Military History

Peer through history at Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, whose steady nature and dominating figure earned him the nicknames "War Horse," "Bulldog," and "Bull of the Woods." Years after the war, Longstreet's reputation swung between Confederate hero and brutish scoundrel. A dutiful soldier with a penchant for drink and gambling, Longstreet spoke little but inspired many, and he continues to fascinate Civil war historians.In his memoir From Manassas to Appomattox, Longstreet reveals his inner musings and insights regarding the War between the States. Ever the soldier, he skims over his personal life to focus on battle strategies, war accounts, and opinions regarding other officers who were as misunderstood as him. The principle subordinate under General Robert E. Lee, Longstreet provides several accounts of Lee's leadership and their strong partnership. An invaluable firsthand account of life during the Civil War, From Manassas to Appomattox not only illuminates the life and ambitions of Lieutenant General James Longstreet, but it also offers an in-depth view of army operations within the Confederacy. An introduction and notes by prominent historian James I. Robertson Jr. and a new foreword by Christian Keller offer insight into the impact of Longstreet's career on American history.

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During 1940 the German army swept with devastating speed across the Low Countries and into northern France and drove Allied forces back into a small pocket around Dunkirk. Without a swift withdrawal across the English Channel, the latter faced certain death or capture. The evacuation plan – Operation Dynamo – initially calculated that 45,000 men might be rescued, but between 26 May and 4 June 338,226 men were in fact brought back to England. Naval historian Philip Weir shows how this was made possible by a vast armada of disparate vessels including destroyers, minesweepers, fishing vessels and, most famously of all, the privately owned ‘Little Ships’. He explores the vessels’ various roles within the evacuation, and their subsequent fates, including preservation and participation in commemorative return runs to the port, which now take place every five years.

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Adolf Hitler considered the Mediterranean an unimportant theater of the war, leaving it to the troops of Benito Mussolini who wanted to dominate the “Mare Nostro.” Nevertheless, when the Italian army was defeated on the Libyan-Egyptian border at the beginning of 1941, the Führer was forced to help his ally by sending an air detachment first to Sicily, then Africa.This latest in the Casemate Illustrated series examines that tiny expeditionary force, solely devoted to protecting Italian possessions in North Africa. When General Erwin Rommel launched his Afrika Korps to the east, the Luftwaffe had to go on the offensive to cover that advance. With over 100 images, this book explores how German and British air forces were quickly reinforced and, in the following months, Germany was forced to engage more and more aerial units on what was initially considered a peripheral arena of the war for the German High Command. Losses in bombers and fighters were high on both sides and when, at the end of 1942, the Allies landed in Morocco and Algeria on the back of the Afrika Korps, the Wehrmacht’s fate was sealed. The depleted Luftwaffe did its best but could not change the course of the battle. The last German units capitulated in Tunisia in May 1943.

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Pegasus Bridge is a legendary part of the D-Day story but myths and misunderstandings abound. The 6th Airborne Division was to begin landing in this area during the early hours of D-Day with a mission to protect the eastern flank of the seaborne landings, commencing a few hours later. For the British and Canadians, this was just beyond Ouistreham, on the beaches codenamed SWORD, JUNO and GOLD. The very first operation of D-Day was to be the capture of the Caen Canal Bridge (Pegasus Bridge) and the River Orne Bridge (Horsa Bridge) a little further up the road. These were the only two bridges between the sea and Caen and so were vital for the linking of the seaborne and airborne forces and also the resupply of the Airborne Division and evacuation of its wounded. For the Germans, possession of the bridges was equally vital, as it would provide them with the opportunity to attack the seaborne forces in their most vulnerable area; the flank This comprehensive pocket guide is designed for anyone visiting the site but is equally useful for anyone wanting an accurate understanding of exactly what went on and where. Neil Barber has written a number of comprehensive guides to the Normandy Campaign including an in-depth look at Pegasus Bridge. Here he uses photographs and first-hand accounts to simply explain what happened in those first few vital hours of D-Day.

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'[A] captivating and dramatic account. . . Drawn from letters and diaries, Holland’s immersive narrative is told through the eye-level perspectives of dozens of subjects. Readers will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly‘Tells the story of the hard, bloody, muddy fighting that filled the rest of 1943… this excellent book reinforces Holland’s reputation as the busiest and most popular military historian of the second world war working today’ Spectator‘A remarkable achievement by a historian at the height of his powers. Holland has successfully illustrated both the signi­ficance and the savagery of the Italian campaign... through a powerful and compelling narrative’ Military History Matters_____________________From the bestselling author of Brothers in Arms comes the story of the most pivotal Allies campaign of World War II.With the invasion of France the following year taking shape, and hot on the heels of victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed into Southern Italy in September 1943. They expected to drive the Axis forces north and be in Rome by Christmas. And although Italy surrendered, the German forces resisted fiercely and the swift hoped-for victory descended into one of the most brutal battles of the war.Even though shipping and materiel were already being safeguarded for the D-Day landings, there were still huge expectations on the progress of the invading armies, but those shortages were to slow the advance with tragic consequences. As the weather closed in, the critical weeks leading up to Monte Cassino would inflict a heavy price for every bloody, hard fought mile the Allied troops covered.Chronicling those dark, dramatic months in unflinching and insightful detail, The Savage Storm is unlike any campaign history yet written. James Holland has always recounted the Second World War at ground level, but this version telling brings the story vividly to life like never before. Weaving together a wealth of letters, diaries, and other incredible documents, Holland traces the battles as they were fought - across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and cities, in intense heat and, towards the end, frigid cold and relentless rain - putting readers at the heart of the action to create an entirely fresh and revealing telling of this most pivotal phase of the war._____________________Praise for James Holland'Impeccably researched and superbly written' Observer'Holland has something new to say.... Filled with insight and detail' Neil Oliver'James Holland is the best of the new generation of WW2 historians' Sebastian Faulks

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A revised and updated single-source reference book which accurately details the German field forces employed in Normandy in 1944 and their losses. Dr. Zetterling provides a sobering analysis of the subject matter and debunks a number of popular myths concerning the campaign (the effectiveness of Allied air power; the preferential treatment of Waffen-SS formations in comparison to their army counterparts; etc.). He supports his text with exhaustive footnoting and provides an organizational chart for most of the formations covered in the book. Includes numerous organizational diagrams, charts, tables and graphs.

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The Battle of the Bulge raises many questions which, until now, have not been adequately answered: How did the major tank types perform during the battle? What were the specific ‘lessons learned’ from the combat? And did these lessons result in changes to tanks in the subsequent months? Offering detailed answers to these questions, and many more, this book provides a survey of the principal tank and tank-equivalents (such as tank destroyers and Jagdpanzers) that took part in the Ardennes Campaign of December 1944–January 1945. Beginning with a basic overview of the campaign, accompanied by an order of battle of the major armoured units, it examines the opposing forces, covering the organization of the two tank forces to explain how they were deployed. Author Steven Zaloga also scrutinises the technical balance between the opposing sides, comparing armour, mobility and firepower as well as other important factors such as reliability, crew situational awareness, and tank layout/efficiency. Full of specially commissioned and highly accurate artwork plates of the tanks themselves, as well as fascinating technical data based on cutting-edge research, this title is the definitive guide to tank warfare in the Battle of the Bulge.

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From the time of Ancient Sumeria, the heavy infantry phalanx dominated the battlefield. Armed with spears or pikes, standing shoulder to shoulder with shields interlocking, the men of the phalanx presented an impenetrable wall of wood and metal to the enemy. Until, that is, the Roman legion emerged to challenge them as masters of infantry battle. Covering the period in which the legion and phalanx clashed (280–168 BC), Myke Cole delves into their tactics, arms and equipment, organization and deployment. Drawing on original primary sources to examine six battles in which the legion fought the phalanx – Heraclea (280 BC), Asculum (279 BC), Beneventum (275 BC), Cynoscephalae (197 BC), Magnesia (190 BC), and Pydna (168 BC) – he shows how and why the Roman legion, with its flexible organization, versatile tactics and iron discipline, came to eclipse the hitherto untouchable Hellenistic phalanx and dominate the ancient battlefield.

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The battles between British and French forces during the Peninsular War (1807–14) and the Hundred Days campaign of 1815 saw both sides deploy specialist units of skirmishers trained in marksmanship and open-order combat. These ‘light’ troops fulfilled several important roles on the battlefield, such as ‘masking’ large bodies of close-order troops as they manoeuvred in battle, firing upon enemy troops to provoke them into attacking prematurely, and harassing enemy artillery crews and senior officers with aimed fire. On occasion, the skirmishers were tasked with special missions requiring individual initiative, such as the capture or defence of key battlefield positions, especially those situated in difficult terrain. While Napoleon’s skirmishers carried the smoothbore musket, notoriously inaccurate and short-ranged, several elite units fighting for Britain were armed with the rifle, a far more accurate weapon that was hampered by a slower rate of fire. As well as the legendary 95th Rifles, Britain fielded rifle-armed German troops of the 60th Regiment and the King’s German Legion, while France’s light troops were fielded in individual companies but also entire regiments. In this study, David Greentree assesses the role and effectiveness of rifle-armed British troops and their French open-order opponents in three very different encounters: Roliça (August 1808), the first British battle of the Peninsular War; the struggle for a key bridge at Barba del Puerco (March 1810); and the bitter fight for the La Haye Sainte farmhouse during the battle of Waterloo (June 1815).

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Exam board: AQA; OCRLevel: AS/A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2016 (AS); Summer 2017 (A-level)Put your trust in the textbook series that has given thousands of A-level History students deeper knowledge and better grades for over 30 years.Updated to meet the demands of today's A-level specifications, this new generation of Access to History titles includes accurate exam guidance based on examiners' reports, free online activity worksheets and contextual information that underpins students' understanding of the period.- Develop strong historical knowledge: in-depth analysis of each topic is both authoritative and accessible- Build historical skills and understanding: downloadable activity worksheets can be used independently by students or edited by teachers for classwork and homework- Learn, remember and connect important events and people: an introduction to the period, summary diagrams, timelines and links to additional online resources support lessons, revision and coursework- Achieve exam success: practical advice matched to the requirements of your A-level specification incorporates the lessons learnt from previous exams- Engage with sources, interpretations and the latest historical research: students will evaluate a rich collection of visual and written materials, plus key debates that examine the views of different historians

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A graphic account of this long-running global drama, The Compact Guide: The Cold War is published in a new era of fear and uncertainty. It encompasses moments of high tension, such as the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the nuclear alerts of 1973 and 1983. At several times the world stood on the brink of nuclear Armageddon, but these dangerous moments all ended with both sides drawing back, until the long confrontation ended peacefully. Written by a leading American defence analyst, Dr Norman Friedman, The Compact Guide: The Cold War is supplemented with 60 photographs and documents that allow the reader to witness the events as they unfolded. Maps, diaries, letters and other items which, up till now, have remained filed or exhibited in the Imperial War Museum and other museum collections in Northern Europe and America include a 1963 nuclear attack protective booklet produced for homeowners by the British government and the official pack for US troops passing through Checkpoint Charlie, with practical advice on visiting Communist-controlled East Berlin.

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THE GRIPPING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'A vastly entertaining tale, bursting with astonishing stories and extraordinary characters ... A fascinating read' Sunday Telegraph'Brilliant ... An amazing story, one I hadn't heard too much about' Dan SnowIT IS THE DEPTHS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.The Germans like to boast that there is 'no escape' from the infamous fortress that is Colditz.The elite British officers imprisoned there are determined to prove the Nazis wrong and get back into the war.As the war heats up and the stakes are raised, the Gestapo plant a double-agent inside the prison in a bid to uncover the secrets of the British prisoners. Captain Julius Green of the Army Dental Corps and Sergeant John 'Busty' Brown must risk their lives in a bid to save the lives of hundreds of Allied servicemen and protect the secrets of MI9.Drawn from unseen records, The Traitor of Colditz brings to light an extraordinary, never-before-told story from the Second World War, an epic tale of how MI9 took on the Nazis and exposed the traitors in their midst.

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This unique volume in the U-boat Aces series features the three German naval captains—Karl-Heinz Moehle, Reinhard Hardegen, and Horst von Schroeter—who commanded the U-123, a type IXB U-boat. In 12 patrols and 720 days at sea during its four-year WWII combat career, U-123 sank an incredible 44 Allied merchant and warships, ranking it with the third-most U-boat sinkings. Moehle, the first commander of U-123, successfully conducted three patrols in the North Atlantic and was awarded the Knight’s Cross. Hardegen sank the first ship in US waters and was eventually awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross. Schroeter, appointed U-123’s commander in June 1942, also received the Knight's Cross after four combat patrols. All 12 of U-123's combat patrols are discussed in detail, as well as its participation in the wartime propaganda film U-boats Westward! The featured rare photography comes from the German U-boat Archive in Cuxhaven, as well as from former crew members.

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The 2020 National Outdoor Book Awards of the History of the YearShortlisted for the 2020 William Hill Sports Book of the Year'A gripping history' THE ECONOMIST 'The World Beneath Their Feet contains plenty of rollicking stories' THE TIMES'Gripping' THE SUNDAY TIMESOne of the most compelling international dramas of the 20th century and an unforgettable saga of survival, technological innovation, and breathtaking human physical achievement-all set against the backdrop of a world headed toward war.While tension steadily rose between European powers in the 1930s, a different kind of battle was raging across the Himalayas. Contingents from Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the United States had set up rival camps at the base of the mountains, all hoping to become recognized as the fastest, strongest, and bravest climbers in the world.Carried on across nearly the entire sweep of the Himalayas, this contest involved not only the greatest mountain climbers of the era, but statesmen and millionaires, world-class athletes and bona fide eccentrics, scientists and generals, obscure villagers and national heroes. Centered in the 1930s, with one brief, shining postwar coda, the contest was a struggle between hidebound traditionalists and unknown innovators, one that featured new techniques and equipment, unbelievable courage and physical achievement, and unparalleled valor. And death. One Himalayan peak alone, Nanga Parbat in Kashmir, claimed twenty-five lives in less than three years.Climbing the Himalayas was the Greatest Generation's moonshot--one shrouded in the onset of war, interrupted by it, and then fully accomplished. A gritty, fascinating history that promises to enrapture fans of Hampton Side, Jon Krakauer, and Laura Hillenbrand, The World Beneath Their Feet brings this forgotten story back to life.

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As elite troops, the German Fallschirmjager (paratroopers) were regularly engaged in front line combat during the Second World War. Their famed actions such as the fighting in Scandinavia, the taking of the Belgian fortress Eden-Emal in May 1940, and the Battle for Crete just a year later, have given them the reputation of being determined, courageous and loyal soldiers. This book continues the pictorial history of the Fallschirmjager, focusing on the period following the bloody Battle for Crete. Used as elite infantry, first in the USSR and then in Africa, the Fallschirmjager were able to reconnect with their glorious past, whether in Italy or on the Greek Islands, as they jumped from their Ju 52s to engage the enemy. Their hard fighting in Italy helped to cement the legend of 'the Green Devils', with the British General Harold Alexander describing them as 'tenacious, highly-trained men, hardened by their many actions and combats'. However, during the fighting in Normandy, the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front, the number of veterans decreased, meaning it was the young German paratroopers who finally surrendered the III Reich on 8 May 1945.

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Cold War nadir: January 1968 and in Czechoslovakia the new Communist Party leader Alexander Dubcek has made it clear that this is the opportunity to loosen the Soviet stranglehold on the country. As the Prague winter slowly eases into a Prague spring, it really does seem as if Dubcek has judged it right. Reforms in oppressive censorship laws, improved housing, a lessening of totalitarian oppression, Dubcek promises and delivers on it all. The new regime in Czechoslovakia does seek to destroy communism but it does want to choose its own political destiny. And then, on the night of 20/21 August the Prague Spring is crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion: 200,000 Communist troops, mostly Soviet but also Polish and East German, flood the country. The resulting protests and rallies against the invasion, mostly by young people, are violent and bloody. Hundreds die in clashes; self-immolation, in public and before the eyes of the world, brings home the horror and the depth of feeling in the Czech people. It is the end of the Prague Spring, the reformation of Czechoslovakia having ended in ruins. But despite the brutal crushing of Czech hopes and dreams, the events of 1968 lay the foundations for future change. It will take another two decades but it is, ultimately, where the unravelling of the Communist bloc begins.

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Of the millions of German soldiers who went to war, many were armed with their personal cameras and intent on photographically chronicling their Dienstzeit, or military service, via meticulously prepared albums or by turning their photos into postcards sent to family and friends or as a single photo to carry into battle. Others were professional photographers and film makers recruited by the military and the Nazi State propaganda ministry to produce images for their agendas. In the era before television, the video camera and satellite link-ups, no other group of combatants had documented a war with such a volume of images. The cameras included older 127 and 120 film formats as well as the new 35 mm still cameras and even 8- and 16-mm movie cameras, which at times the soldaten aimed with the same accuracy as their Mauser rifles and Krupp cannon. In turn the images reflect upon the photographers, a mirrored view of a mind-set clouded by a fatal arrogance, the eye of the beholder blinded by a cruel and rapacious ideology as yet unaware that such images would serve to document those darkest of times.

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The story of I Canadian Corps’s crossing of the Emilia-Romagna plain, in the thirteenth instalment of the bestselling Canadian Battle Series.The Canadians called it the Promised Land. In late September 1944, the Emilia-Romagna plain before I Canadian Corps stretched to the far horizon—a deceptively wide-open space where the tanks could run free. Throughout British Eighth Army, hopes ran high that once it entered the plain, the Germans could be driven from Italy. As soon as the advance began, however, the plain’s true nature was revealed: the land was criss-crossed by rivers, canals and drainage ditches over which all bridges had been demolished. With higher command urging haste, the Canadians entered a long and nightmarish series of battles to win crossings over each waterway, whose high banks provided the Germans with perfect defensive positions. Early fall rains caused rivers to spill their banks and transformed the countryside into the worst quagmire the soldiers had ever seen. More than five months of battle followed, with weeks of hard fighting required to advance from one river to the next. Each month, conditions only worsened, and the casualty rates rose appallingly. As their comrades fell one by one, most soldiers sought merely to survive. Doing that much required every measure of stamina, courage and fighting skill they possessed. The fifth and final Canadian Battle Series volume set in Italy, The River Battles tells the story of this campaign’s last and hardest months. In riveting detail and with his trademark “you-are-there” style, Mark Zuehlke shines a light on this forgotten chapter of Canada’s World War II experience.

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Sir, God hath taken away your eldest son by a cannon shot. It brake his leg. We were necessitated to have it cut off, whereof he died.' In one of the most famous and moving letters of the Civil War, Oliver Cromwell told his brother-in-law that on 2 July 1644 Parliament had won an emphatic victory over a Royalist army commanded by King Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert, on rolling moorland west of York. But that battle, Marston Moor, had also slain his own nephew, the recipient's firstborn. In this vividly narrated history of the deadly conflict that engulfed the nation during the 1640s, Peter Gaunt shows that, with the exception of World War I, the death-rate was higher than any other contest in which Britain has participated. Numerous towns and villages were garrisoned, attacked, damaged or wrecked. The landscape was profoundly altered. Yet amidst all the blood and killing, the fighting was also a catalyst for profound social change and innovation. Charting major battles, raids and engagements, the author uses rich contemporary accounts to explore the life-changing experience of war for those involved, whether musketeers at Cheriton, dragoons at Edgehill or Cromwell's disciplined Ironsides at Naseby (1645).

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‘On the beach the Lieutenant asked if he could say a prayer before being shot. “Don’t be so bloody silly,” I replied, “get into the boat.”’ My Friends, The Enemy recounts the Falklands War from the viewpoint of the only Intelligence Corps in HQ 3 Commando Brigade and serving with its Intelligence Section of Royal Marines, It is a personal account supported by intelligence assembled since 1982. Nick van der Bijl was a Staff Sergeant and his role meant that he was expected to provide accurate intelligence to Brigade Headquarters and deploy specialist skills. Little was known about the Argentine threat and so the Intelligence Section was very heavily involved in collecting, collating and distributing intelligence from a variety of sources, initially from the UK and after landing at San Carlos Water, also from documents, prisoners of war, and a counter-intelligence operation. While the intelligence proved to be accurate throughout the campaign, some has been controversial, particularly relating to the Battle of Goose Green. Van der Bijl was one of the first into Stanley after the Argentinian surrender and was part of an intelligence operation that searched enemy HQs for documents and selected several hundred officers for further interrogation. My Friends, The Enemy is the first time that the story of intelligence operations has been told by a witness to events in the Falklands from the start of the campaign to the finish.

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For nearly two and a half years, from June 1940 until late 1942, Malta was subjected to one Axis air raid after another. The Mediterranean island was effectively beleaguered, reliant for defence on anti-aircraft guns and often-outnumbered fighter aircraft and dependent for survival on naval supply convoys. The Axis attempted to bomb and starve Malta into submission, attacking ports, military and industrial areas, leading to Malta becoming one of the most intensively bombed areas of the Second World War, with well over 3000 alerts before the end of hostilities. But against the odds, and at heavy cost, Malta was held. Malta was vital to Allied success in North Africa, dominating Axis supply routes to the region. It was a remarkable, intense campaign, a crucial turning point in the Second World War, and one of the Allies' greatest tactical and strategic victories. This is an account of that desperate time, as witnessed by those who were there and illustrated by their wartime photographs. Included is a special colour section focusing on reminders of the battle in a series of more recent images.

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The siege of Leningrad was the longest ever endured by a modern city, and the deadliest siege in recorded history. It lasted for nearly 900 days, from late August 1941 to late January 1944, bringing unparalleled hardship to the population. Out of over three million persons in the city more than one million lost their lives through cold, disease and starvation, bombs and artillery fire. The severe winter of 1941-42 was by far the worst period of the siege, when food reserves ran out, rations dropped to a little over three ounces of bread per person per day and regular supplies of water, fuel, and electricity stopped. Its epic suffering and endurance earned Leningrad the title of Hero City of the Soviet Union . This book is from an article in issue 123 of After the Battle magazine, the joint authors were Karel Margry and Ron Hogg.

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In 1905 Japan and Russia were at war. With the Russian Far East Fleet destroyed, the Czar decided to send his Baltic Fleet half way around the world to exact revenge. This mammoth journey took many months and was, in itself, an amazing feat of seamanship. But, at the end of this epic adventure, the Russians were totally overwhelmed and the vast majority of the fleet went to the bottom. There was no alternative for the Czar but to sue for an ignominious peace. The story of the journey and the final battle remain fascinating, the people involved acting and deporting themselves like characters from a novel. Russian Admiral Rozhestvensky was a gunnery expert but someone who had never held active command in a major sea battle. Japanese Admiral Togo had trained in Britain, enlisting as a cadet on the Training Ship Worcester, even though he was far too old and was forced to lie about his age. Inept generalship on the part of the Russians, combined with brilliant seamanship from the Japanese Admiral Togo, saw the complete destruction of the Russian fleet. The naval battle of Tsushima is one of the forgotten actions of the twentieth century, but it has a significance that is immense in world history.

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The German heavy tank Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger is a vehicle known even to laymen. It was heavily armored and armed with a deadly 88 mm gun. Despite their legend, the Tigers were plagued by several technical problems, especially with propulsion, which often did not allow them to fully use their combat potential.The main motivator for designing the Pz.Kpfw. VI was eager to install a Flak 36 antiaircraft gun 36 caliber 88 in the turret. It was a weapon that could destroy Soviet tanks on long distances. In addition, it was necessary to build a tank able to withstand fire from the T-34/76 guns, which effectively eliminated the German medium tanks Pz.Kpfw. III and IV.A competition for a tank that fulfills these requirements was set, and in April 1942 the prototypes of Porshe and Henschel went for the final duel. After a series of tests, the tank developed by Henshel proved to be better. It received the designation Sd.Kfz. 181 Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger Ausf. H1 and went into production at the plants in Kassel-Mittelfeld and Wegmann AG.The tank was plagued by many teething problems, and as a result, many subsequent construction changes were introduced in the course of production. Considering the periods of their implementation, it is possible to extract Tigers of early production series, vehicles after modification and vehicles of late production series.

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World War II saw the development of the heavy bomber as a decisive weapon which, in sufficient numbers, could overcome defensive fighters and guns and lay waste to strategic targets. The addition of nuclear weapons to the bomber’s armament made it even more formidable, and by the late 1940s, US planners saw the growth of a Soviet nuclear-armed bomber fleet as a terrifying threat to North American security. Conventional subsonic fighters with guns and free-flight air-to-air rockets would be incapable of reaching these incoming bombers in time to prevent even one from delivering a devastating nuclear attack. As a result, supersonic speed, long-range guided missiles and precise radar-based control of an interception became prerequisites for a new breed of fighters, beginning with the F-102. A massive research and development effort produced the F-102A ‘1954 Fighter’, the J57 afterburning turbojet, its Hughes MX-1554 fire control system and, in due course, the Semi-Active Ground Environment (SAGE) radar and communications network that covered North America to guide its airborne defences. In service, F-102As also provided air defence in Europe with USAFE, in the Far East and in Southeast Asia, where they protected US airbases in South Vietnam and Thailand from air attack by North Vietnamese fighters and bombers and escorted B-52s and fighter-bombers on their attack sorties. This illustrated study from leading expert Peter E. Davis details the design, development, and deployment of the futuristic F-102, including its complex research program and role in Vietnam.

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What happens to a composer when persecution and exile means their true music no longer has an audience? In the 1930s, composers and musicians began to flee Hitler’s Germany to make new lives across the globe. The process of exile was complex: although some of their works were celebrated, these composers had lost their familiar cultures and were forced to navigate xenophobia as well as entirely different creative terrain. Others, far less fortunate, were in a kind of internal exile—composing under a ruthless dictatorship or in concentration camps and ghettos. Michael Haas sensitively records the experiences of this musical diaspora. Torn between cultures and traditions, these composers produced music that synthesized old and new worlds, some becoming core portions of today’s repertoire, some relegated to the desk drawer. Encompassing the musicians interned as enemy aliens in the United Kingdom, the brilliant Hollywood compositions of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and the Brecht-inspired theater music of Kurt Weill, Haas shows how these musicians shaped the twentieth-century soundscape—and offers a moving record of the incalculable effects of war on culture.

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

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A bad reputation has its commitments.' So wrote home Jochen Peiper from the fighting front in the East in 1943, characterizing his battle-hardened command during the Second World War. Peiper's War is a new serious work of military history by the renowned author Danny S. Parker which presents a unique view off the Second World War as seen from a prominent participant on the dark side of history. The story follows the wartime career of Waffen SS Colonel Jochen Peiper, a handsome Aryan prodigy who was considered a hero in the Third Reich. Peiper had been Heinrich Himmler's personal adjutant in the early years of the war, and, having procured a field command in Hitler's namesake fighting force, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, he become famous for a flamboyant and brutal style of warfare on the Eastern Front. There, in his sphere, few prisoners were taken, and motives of racial genocide were never far from unspoken orders. Transferred to the west, Peiper's battlegroup incinerated a tiny town in Northern Italy and killed the village mayor and priest. Being well-connected to Himmler and other generals of the period, Peiper finds a place in the narrative as a storied witness to the inner workings of the Nazi elite along with other prominent SS officers such as Kurt Meyer. In this meticulously researched work, we witness the apex and then death spiral of Nazi military intentions as Peiper fights for Germany across every front in the conflict. Peiper's War provides a telling inside look at Hitler's war and then how the dark secrets of his security-minded command were improbably unearthed at the end of the conflict by an obscure top-secret surveillance facility in the United States.

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In the late 19th and early 20th century, a combination of coastal defence for the homeland and fleet defence for the East Indies became the established naval strategy for the Royal Dutch Navy and set the template for the world wars. Battleships were too expensive to build and maintain, so after World War I, there was significant investment in submarine development and construction. A handful of modern light cruisers and a new class of destroyers were also constructed during the interwar years to serve as a small Fleet-in-Being in the East Indies, as well as to support the actions of the navy’s submarines. The light cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter and the Java-class light cruisers were the most powerful units of the new fleet whilst the backbone of the destroyer fleet was the Admiralen-class and the Tromp-class of destroyer leaders. Beginning in December 1941, the Dutch Navy played a very active role in the defence of the East Indies against the Japanese during World War II. The Battle of the Java Sea at the end of February 1942 crushed Dutch naval power in the East Indies, sinking the cruisers Java and De Ruyter and killing Admiral Karel Doorman. However, several Dutch surface warships and submarines continued the fight against the Axis powers alongside the Allies until the end of World War II, including a pair of British-built destroyers, Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes. This beautifully illustrated book from a leading scholar on Dutch military history provides a comprehensive guide to the Royal Netherlands Navy of the World War II period, complete with detailed cutaways and battleplates of the fleet in action.

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In the second volume of this publication, the remainder of the Opel motor company major production types are covered that were not covered in volume 1, such as the Opel P-4 that was also used as the basis of many of the pre-war mock-up training tanks used by the German army due to the lack of real tanks to train with. The “Opel Kadett” (cadet), the Opel Supper 6, the “Opel Kapitan” (Captain) and the top of the range, the luxurious Opel Admiral.In this volume the author provides a detailed impression of these vehicles through original photographs, taken both during and before the war by the normal German soldiers who both used and served with these now classic automobiles.

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World War Two Spitfire pilot Owen Hardy was probably the last New Zealand ace to tell his story. He left home at 18 bent on joining the RAF and by 1942, aged only 20, he was at Biggin Hill with 72 Squadron under Brian Kingcome. D-Day found him flying over the Normandy beaches with 485 (New Zealand) Squadron. That he survived the war unharmed owed as much to luck as it did to his ability as a fighter pilot. Unable, though, to settle in civilian life afterwards in New Zealand, he returned to the RAF for the second phase of a remarkable career. Converting to jets, Hardy went on to command 71 Squadron, leading a Vampire aerobatic team with considerable success across Europe – dodging MiGs at the same time! But adapting to peacetime service wasn’t easy. Previously stimulated by the wartime environment and still passionate about flying, he was less enamoured with staff jobs; and this despite working on the introduction of a new, state-of-the-art missile system, Bloodhound. Then a fateful decision, to turn down command of a Javelin squadron and follow his mentor, led finally to disillusionment. Hardy pulls no punches in this forthright and refreshingly honest autobiography. In retelling his eye-opening story, editor Black Robertson shines a light on what it was like not just to fly in combat, but also on the changing face of a post-war RAF which arguably undervalued some of its heroes. From the heat of North Africa to the uncertainties of the Cold War, it’s a unique and enthralling tale.

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The Me 262 was the world’s first operational military jet. Hitler believed that it would become Germany’s ‘miracle weapon’ and took a great personal interest in its development. Pilot Mano Ziegler was involved from its inception and contributed to its design and testing. Could the Me 262 have broken Allied supremacy in the air? Why did it take so long to come into service and why were hundreds of German pilots sacrificed in developing it? Most important of all, why did the Me 262 prove not to be the unparalleled success that Goering claimed it would be and what role did Hitler play in this ultimate failure? These are some of the questions this compelling book answers.

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At the start of World War One the Imperial German Navy had a large number of surface warships deployed around the world. These posed a considerable threat to British mercantile interests, particularly the import of food and fuel supplies. Their elimination was a matter of urgency. This book covers the major actions and includes the following: The escape of the Goeben and Breslau to Turkey, where they became units of the Turkish Navy serving in the Black and Aegean Seas. The remarkable cruise of the Emden. Detached from the German East Asia Squadron she sank a Russian cruiser, a French destroyer, 21 merchant ships and destroyed cargo valued at 3 million. She was cornered and sunk by the Australian cruiser Sydney while raiding the Cocos Islands. The mystery of the Karlsruhe, destroyed by an internal explosion. The German East Asiatic Squadron, consisting of the armoured cruisers Schanhorst and Gneisienau and several light cruisers made passage across the Pacific to the west coast of South America where they encountered and sank two British cruisers, the Monmouth and Good Hope. The Konigsberg operated from Germanys colony of Tanga. After sinking a British cruiser she hid in the upper reaches of the Rufiji River. After a lengthy naval and air campaign by British forces she was finally destroyed by the indirect fire from two RN Monitors. By the middle of 1915 the high seas had been mostly cleared of German surface warships, but two armed German ships dominated Lake Tanganyika. Two British armed motor boats were shipped to the West African coast from England and made their way by river and overland haulage to the lake, a 400 mile journey. The result was the destruction of the German lake boats and the invasion of Tanganyika by British forces. This operation became the inspiration for CS Foresters novel The African Queen and the film that followed.

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The Gebirgsj ger were officially formed in 1935 following Hitler's rejection of the Treaty of Versailles, although the required skills had been fostered in preparation through civilian climbing clubs. They were recruited predominantly from the southern mountainous parts of Germany - Wurtemburg and Bavaria - and from Austria, where Alpinism and mountain warfare had a long tradition. Rigorously trained in skiing, climbing and other demanding skills of mountain survival and combat, they formed an elite within the German army, distinguished by the distinctive Eidelweiss cap badge adopted in 1939. Jean-Denis Lepage gives a concise history of the Gebirgsj ger's employment, which saw them in action on every front, from Lapland in the North to Tunisia in the south, and throught the war, from the invasion of Poland to the final defence of Germany. He then gives a detailed description of their uniforms and insignia, equipment, organization, training and tactics. The book is clearly illustrated throughout with over 170 of the author's own line drawings.

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This book addresses itself to the handwritten log of non-commissioned Ottoman Military officer Huseyin Atif Efendi, my grandfather. He fought in the Gallipoli and the East Fronts of World War One, before the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. In the fronts, he wrote official war logs from time to time and set tents when necessary. It contains, history in the raw its dramas and cruelties, its moments of humour some of it very black indeed its drudgery, and its excitement. I was able to reach a remarkable set of recollections as narratives from my own family oral testimonies at its most immediate and most revealing. The recollections presented as narrations, casts light on a different aspect of the World War One, often it is a light that has not been cast before, something that the most diligent of historians may have missed, or the most avid reader of sociology books not read before. Every reader will be struck by different entries, and will want to read many of them again and again.

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In the summer of 1941, a collective madness overtook Adolf Hitler and his senior generals. They convinced themselves that they could take on and defeat a superpower in the making – the Soviet Union. Foolishly, they thought in a swift campaign they could smash the Red Army and force Stalin to sue for peace, despite dire warnings that Stalin was amassing a reserve army of more than 1 million men on the Volga. The end result would be such carnage that it would tear the German forces apart. In his major reassessment of the war on the Eastern Front, Anthony Tucker-Jones casts new light on the brutal fighting, including such astounding German defeats as at Stalingrad, Kursk, Minsk and, finally, Berlin. He controversially contends that from the very start intelligence officers on both sides failed to influence their leadership resulting in untold slaughter. He also reveals the shocking blunders by Hitler, Stalin and even Churchill that led to the appalling, needless destruction of Hitler’s armed forces as early as the winter of 1941–42. Step by step, Tucker-Jones describes how the German war machine fought to its very last against a relentless enemy, fully aware that defeat was inevitable.

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‘The Armchair General team has done it again. An absorbing read for Christmas.’Peter Caddick-Adams‘Brilliant and immersive.’Harry SidebottomThe second book in the Armchair General series, where YOU choose the fate of the First World War________________________________HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS. WILL IT BE YOU?TAKE THE HOTSEATAssume the role of real historic decision-makers: general, leaders, soldiers and intelligence officers of the Allied Forces during World War I.EXAMINE THE INTELLIGENCEExplore eight key moments from the First World War, using real contemporaneous intelligence: including the July Crisis, the Battle of the Somme, and the Russian Revolution.CONSIDER THE SCENARIO & MAKE YOUR DECISIONFrom battlefields to the Royal Courts, each tactical and strategic decision you make leads to a different outcome.Will you follow the path of the past - or shape a new history...?________________________________PRAISE FOR THE ARMCHAIR GENERAL SERIES'An original and exciting approach...The Armchair General adds enormously to our understanding of the conflicts' JAMES HOLLAND'A reminder that history is a never ending now, a relentless and endless present that comes without the luxury of hindsight' AL MURRAY'Wonderfully original...putting readers at the heart of the decision-making process and allowing them, literally, to change the course of history. This is counterfactual history at its very best' SAUL DAVID

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Al Murray's passion for military history and the Second World War in particular has always run parallel with his comedy and was brought to the fore with several acclaimed and award-winning television shows and the recent huge success of his podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk which he hosts with fellow bestselling military author James Holland. In his first serious narrative book, Command showcases Al Murray's passion for this pivotal period in the twentieth century, as he writes an engaging, entertaining and sharp analysis of the key allied military leaders in the conflict. Command highlights the performance and careers of some of the leading protagonists who commanded armies, as well as the lesser-known officers who led divisions, regiments and even battalions for the British, Commonwealth and United States of American armies. By showcasing each combat commander across every major theatre of operations the allies fought in, Murray tells the story of how the Western Allies rebounded from early shocking defeats (Dunkirk and Pearl Harbor) to then victories (El Alamein and D-Day) in its efforts to defeat the Axis forces of Nazi Germany and Japan, and what that tells us about the characters and the challenges that faced them. Command is the book for all fans of Second World War History who appreciate a true enthusiast of the genre with something new and compelling to say.

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At the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain, desperately short of merchant shipping, turned to the Norwegians who agreed to loan several hundred of its modern cargo and tanker ships. In early 1940 when Hitler invaded Norway, both the British and Germans rushed to seize the remainder of the fleet. King Haakon VII and his government, now fleeing from Nazi occupation, refused to relinquish control of this vital national asset. Instead, they nationalized the fleet and established the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission. Nicknamed Nortraship, it became overnight the largest shipping company the world had seen with a thousand ships and offices on six continents. Generously made available to Great Britain, it became a priceless Allied asset without which victory over Germany would arguably have been impossible. By the end of the war, about half Nortraship's fleet had been lost to enemy action. The Saga of Norway's Merchant Fleet in the Second World War is a superbly researched addition to Second World War history being the first detailed account in English of Norway's critical contribution to the Allies. As well as telling this little-known but hugely significant story, the author covers the controversies that developed and persist into the present day.

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Stalingrad was not only the most-crucial battle on the Eastern Front, it was the main turning point of the whole Second World War in Europe. The Third Reich had suffered setbacks earlier, notably at El Alamein in North Africa in October 1942, but the scale of the fighting on the Eastern Front was incomparably larger than any of the other war fronts and it was the fate of the armies there that decided the outcome of the global conflict. After the demise of the German 6. Armee at Stalingrad in February 1943 it was clear that Nazi Germany would lose the war. This book brings together three After the Battle stories devoted to that historic struggle. It opens with a detailed account of the fight for the city of Voronezh. Lying on the great Don river, it was a prime initial objective of the German summer offensive towards the Caucasus launched on June 28, 1942. Possession of Voronezh would secure an eastern anchor point for a northern defensive line needed for the southward advance to Stalingrad. The city was taken with relative ease in early July but, when the Soviets launched a counter-offensive, the Heeresgruppe S d commander, Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock, allowed his panzer and motorised divisions to be drawn into the protracted fight. This week-long delay which infuriated Hitler severely disrupted the timetable for the main offensive, and fatally contributed to the failure to seize Stalingrad in a surprise raid. The main part of the book is taken up by a comprehensive description of the gargantuan seven-month battle for Stalingrad itself. All stages are described in detail: the advance of the German armies to the city in August, the stubborn and heroic defence of the besieged Soviet 62nd Army against overwhelming German superiority in September-November; and the subsequent encirclement and annihilation of the doomed 6. Armee in the winter, ending in total capitulation on February 2, 1943. Due to the wholesale destruction of the embattled city, it was long thought impossible to apply After the Battle s then and now format to Stalingrad but with the help of a local expert and acknowledged student of the battle, Alexander Trofimov, we managed to match up numerous combat photos taken all over the city, giving full treatment to the months-long struggle for the city on the Volga. The same goes for Voronezh where we found another local expert, Sergey Popov, who achieved equally astounding comparisons. Without them, this book could not have been made. The German catastrophe at Stalingrad, with around 150,000 men killed or succumbing to the winter cold and around 100,000 taken prisoner (of whom only some 5,000 survived captivity), remained a national trauma in Germany. Coming to terms with the event proved difficult, the sorrow over the loss of so many German lives being surmounted by guilt over the fact that Germany had been the aggressor. In many ways, Stalingrad became a taboo, remembered in silence but avoided in public discussion. Illustrative of this is the fact that it took a full 50 years before a major feature film on Stalingrad could be produced in Germany. It was only in 1992 that the German film industry felt the time was ripe and produced and released Stalingrad, the first full-fledged war movie on the battle. We include the story of the making of this film as an epilogue to the main story.

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VILLERS-BOCAGE Operation Perch, the complete account Villers-Bocage remains lodged in the imagination of many readers as a costly and controversial defeat for the British Army in Normandy. This point of view is entirely reliant on just ten minutes of fighting plucked from a two-day battle. This account sets out to rectify that view. Based on prolific first-hand information, including extensive interviews with veterans of the battle, this book explores every facet of the available information, subjecting it to in-depth analysis. Far from being the crushing defeat popularised in many histories, which tend to rely on German propaganda, Villers-Bocage can, in fact, be viewed as a remarkable and compelling recovery from an ambush. The shortcoming was that much of the territory gained in the advance was relinquished, so the first telling of the story was given to the Germans who, quite legitimately under wartime conditions, made the most of their advantage. In this book, Daniel Taylor provides a minutely detailed examination of the course of the fighting, exploring both sides of the debate, allowing the reader to evaluate the strength of the argument. Dozens of first-hand accounts are brought together and placed into a comprehensible and accurate time-line. Both German and British official histories and personal accounts have been pieced together providing an astonishing level of corroboration. Accompanying the written history is extensive mapping and an unprecedented quantity of photographs, from multiple sources, which add definition and visual verification. This book lays to rest the myths built up around the battle.

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Of all the armies involved in World War II, the U.S. Army developed the most sophisticated system for the transport and treatment of injured and sick soldiers, pushing the boundaries of available technology to give their men the best chance of not only survival but a full recovery. Each infantry regiment had a medical detachment that was tasked with conserving the strength of the regiment by not only providing medical and dental treatment but also undertaking all possible measures to keep the regiment healthy. In combat they would provide emergency medical treatment on the battlefield, then move casualties to aid stations they had established. At aid stations casualties would be triaged, stabilized and treated before being moved on for further treatment. Vehicles formed a crucial part of the Medical Detachment’s equipment.This fully illustrated, comprehensive books covers all types of medical vehicles used both in-theater and in the United States, including ambulances and technical support vehicles. It details vehicle markings and the equipment modified for use in the evacuation of troops from the battlefield; and the other uses these vehicles were adapted for during the war including their use as “Clubmobiles” and “Chuck Wagons” by the American Red Cross.

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Black Tulip is the dramatic story of history's top fighter ace, Luftwaffe pilot Erich Hartmann. It's also the story of how his service under Hitler was simplified and elevated to Western mythology during the Cold War.Over 1,404 wartime missions, Hartmann claimed a staggering 352 airborne kills, and his career contains all the dramas you would expect. There were the frostbitten fighter sweeps over the Eastern Front, drunken forays to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, a decade of imprisonment in the wretched Soviet POW camps, and further military service during the Cold War that ended with conflict and angst.Just when Hartmann’s second career was faltering, he was adopted by a network of writers and commentators personally invested in his welfare and reputation. These men, mostly Americans, published elaborate, celebratory stories about Hartmann and his elite fraternity of Luftwaffe pilots. With each dogfight tale put into print, Hartmann’s legacy became loftier and more secure, and his complicated service in support of Nazism faded away. A simplified, one-dimensional account of his life - devoid of the harder questions about allegiance and service under Hitler - has gone unchallenged for almost a generation.Black Tulip locates the ambiguous truth about Hartmann and so much of the German Wehrmacht in general: that many of these men were neither full-blown Nazis nor impeccable knights. They were complex, contradictory, and elusive. This book portrays a complex human rather than the heroic caricature we’re used to, and it argues that the tidy, polished hero stories we’ve inherited about men like Hartmann say as much about those who've crafted them as they do about the heroes themselves.

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