Military History Books

Book SynopsisFully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this fascinating study investigates the rifled firearms employed by European and American forces in the 18th and early 19th centuries, from the American long rifle to the British Baker rifle and beyond.The conduct of combat operations in open order during the 18th and 19th centuries required an improved firearm with more accuracy than the standard-issue smoothbore infantry musket. Consequently, the appearance of a new type of regular light infantry soldier and an innovative military firearm, the rifle, marked a new age in the history of warfare. During the 18th century both Austria and Prussia fielded light troops armed with rifled firearms, while conflicts in North America involved the deadly long rifle and the innovative Ferguson breech-loader. Rifle-armed specialists also fought for several nations during the Napoleonic Wars. However, it was the decades after 1815 that saw the appearance of successful rTrade ReviewWell written and packed full of detailed information, including diagrams, this is a must for weapon enthusiasts. -- John Norris * GunMart *Table of ContentsIntroduction Development Use Impact Conclusion Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAtomic Tragedy offers a unique perspective on one of the most important events of the twentieth century. As secretary of war during World War II, Henry L. Stimson (18671950) oversaw the American nuclear weapons program. In a book about how an experienced, principled man faltered when confronted by the tremendous challenge posed by the intersection of war, diplomacy, and technology, Sean L. Malloy examines Stimson''s struggle to reconcile his responsibility for the most terrible weapon ever known in human history with his long-standing convictions about war and morality. Ultimately, Stimson''s story is one of failure; despite his beliefs, Stimson reluctantly acquiesced in the use of the atomic bomb against heavily populated Japanese cities in August 1945. This is the first biography of Stimson to benefit from extensive use of papers relating to the Manhattan Project; Malloy has also uncovered evidence illustrating the origins of Stimson''s commitment to eliminating or refiningTrade ReviewMalloy rovides an important perspective on the continuing debate about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.... His study of Henry L. Stimson, who served as secretary of war during World War II, is valuable. Stimson, who was in his seventies during the war, was one of the Republican Party's most respected elder statesmen, having been in Hoover's and Taft's cabinets before. He was a deeply moral man who believed in the rule of law to keep international order. Yet despite his fervent belief in moral suasion, he succumbed to the allure of the atomic bomb—and all its attendant horrors—when presented with the possibility that the terrible war could be concluded through its use, even though at the expense of civilian life. Malloy's book... presents us with an updated and exceedingly insightful assessment of the aging statesman, perhaps no longer at the top of his game yet faced with one of our country's most challenging decisions during its most awful conflict. Malloy believes Stimson's decision to support the bomb went against his most cherished beliefs and was for many a disappointing conclusion to an outstanding career of public service.... This book is highly recommended for all collections. * Library Journal (starred review) *Sean L. Malloy's richly detailed, well-argued book is the latest addition to the growing literature on Stimson that offers a critical analysis of his role in what is arguably the most momentous U.S. defense and foreign policy decision of the modern era—to use nuclear weapons against Japan and as a diplomatic tool against the Soviet Union. Malloy's goal is daunting, especially in a relatively brief book, but he achieves it surprisingly well. Making extensive use of archival resources, Malloy employs the lens of biography to recapture Stimson's complicated relationship to the bomb and the context of its use.... This book is a well-written, informative, judicious account that will be useful to historians as well as policy analysts and ethicists. -- Monroe H. Little * Journal of American History *Showing originality, Sean Malloy approaches the decision to use the bomb from the perspective of a key player, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, who had a record of opposition to indiscriminate attacks on civilians, evident misgivings about the prospective use of the atomic bomb, and concern about the implications of its use for future peace and security. -- Lawrence D. Freedman * Foreign Affairs *Using the life and perspective of the erudite, elitist, loyal, compassionate, and complicated Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, to drive his narrative forward, Malloy examines the development of the bomb and the decision to use it. Anyone looking for a review of atomic bomb scholarship as well as a sense of the actual decision-making process will find Malloy's thoughtful and very accessible account both enlightening and thought provoking.... Atomic Tragedy is well worth the read. -- Jonathan F. Phillips * Military History of the West *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe English reformers of the 1530s, with Thomas Cromwell at their head, continued to have a strong belief in kingly rule and authority, in contrast to their radical approach to the power of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Resisting the king was tantamount to resisting God in their eyes, and even on a matter of conscience the will of the king should prevail. Yet just over 100 years later, Charles I was called the ''man of blood'', and Oliver Cromwell famously declared that ''we will cut off his head with the crown on it''. But how did we get from the one to the other? How did the deferential Reformation become a regicidal revolution? Following on from his biography of Thomas Cromwell, John Schofield examines how the English character and the way it perceived royal rule changed between the time of Thomas Cromwell and that of his great-great-grandnephew Oliver.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDenis Judd is Professor Emeritus of Imperial and Commonwealth History, London Metropolitan University, and Professor at New York University in London. His books include Empire; George VI (both published by I.B.Tauris); The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj; Balfour and the British Empire; Radical Joe - A Life of Joseph Chamberlain; The Victorian Empire; Palmerston; The Crimean War and Jawaharlal Nehru. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Keith Surridge is an independent scholar. He is the author of Managing the South African War 1899-1902.Table of ContentsIllustrations Acknowledgements Maps Preface Introduction: An Irrepressible Conflict? PART I: THE BACKGROUND TO THE WAR British Rule, Confrontation and Compromise 1815-1886 The Descent to War 1886-1899 PART II: THE COMBATANTS 3. The British Army 4. Rallying the Empire 5. The Boers PART III: THE CAMPAIGNS 1899-1902 6. The Opening Battles, October 1899 7. The Disasters of Black Week, December 1899: The Battles of Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso, and their less disastrous prelude 8. Humiliation, January and February 1900: The Battles of Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz 9. ‘I thank God we have kept the flag flying’: The Besieged Towns of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking 10. The Turn of the Tide, February 1900: The Relief of Kimberley, the Battle of Paardeberg, the Relief of Ladysmith 11. Marching to Pretoria (and Johannesburg): The British Advance through the Boer Republics, the Relief of Mafeking, the Start of the Guerrilla War 12. Methods of Barbarism? December 1900 to October 1901: The Guerrilla War, Farm Burning, the Concentration Camps 13. Seeking Peace, March 1900-June 1901 14. The Final Battles, May 1901-May 1902 PART IV: THE AMBIVALENCES OF WAR 15. Big Business, Capitalism and War 16. The Last of the Gentlemen’s Wars? 17. The Pro-Boers 18. Foreigners and the War 19. The Press and the War 20. The Literature of the War PART V: THE PEACE 21. The Talks Begin 22. Taking Stock Peace at Last

Read more less

Book SynopsisA compelling insight into the lives of the soldiers behind the war that not only changed the direction of world affairs but also brought with it a modernised, mechanised style of warfare.Many people have the idea that the Great War' on the Western Front was simple, if ghastly, to fight with few tactics, and unbroken, monotonous, trench lines as the main feature of the battlefield. In such a scenario the archetypal image of battle is of soldiers with rifles and bayonets charging each other in blind obedience to stupid repetitious orders.Though undeniably bloody the war was in fact a ferment of new ideas and new weapons. Gas, flame throwers, super-heavy artillery, concrete bunkers, tanks, aircraft and other innovations were all introduced, whilst older notions such as barbed wire, machine guns and armour took on a new lease of life.No single manual was ever enough to encompass ''modern war'', and even before 1914 numerous publications were required. With the focus on the Western

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis illustrated title details the campaign history, uniforms, and insignia of a major foreign volunteer formation of the Waffen-SS before its final transformation into a full division in the winter of 1944.Goebbels'' 1941 propaganda campaign to present Germany''s invasion of the USSR as a battle for European civilization against Asian barbarism convinced many men in occupied Germanic European countries, such as Scandinavia and the Low Countries, to volunteer to fight on the Russian Front. One of the strongest national legions of such a kind was raised in the Netherlands, where it was supported by a large pro-Nazi movement led by Anton Mussert. The 3,000-man Netherlands Volunteer Legion fought on the Leningrad front in regimental strength, from the Red Army''s winter 1941/42 counter-offensive until April 1943. The survivors were then reinforced to form a 5,500-strong Panzergrenadier Brigade, and after anti-partisan service in Croatia, they returned to Army Group NorthTable of ContentsIntroduction Eastern Front, 1942-43 From Legion to Brigade Return to the Eastern Front, 1944 Narva Kurland Select Bibliography Plate Commentaries Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough New Guinea's Thunderbolt pilots faced several different types of enemy aircraft in capricious tropical conditions, by far their most common adversary was the Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa, codenamed Oscar' by the Allies. These two opposing fighters were the products of two radically different design philosophies. The Thunderbolt was heavy, fast and packed a massive punch thanks to its battery of eight 0.50-cal machine guns, while the Oscar' was the complete opposite in respect to fighter design philosophy lightweight, nimble, manoeuvrable and lightly armed. It was, nonetheless, deadly in the hands of an experienced pilot. The Thunderbolt commenced operations in New Guinea with a series of bomber escort missions in mid-1943, and its firepower and superior speed soon saw Fifth Air Force fighter command deploying elite groups of P-47s to Wewak, on the northern coast. Flying from there, they would pick off unwary enemy aircraft during dedicated fighter patrols. The Thunderbolt piTable of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Strategic Situation The Combatants Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Further Reading Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA fascinating history of the great summer offensive launched by the Red Army in 1944 which turned the tide of the war.Throughout the war on the Eastern Front, there were two consistent trends. The Red Army battled to learn how to fight and win, while involved in a struggle for its very survival. But by 1944 it had a leadership that was able to wield it with lethal effect and with far more effective equipment than before. By contrast, the Wehrmacht had commenced a slow process of decline after the invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler became increasingly unwilling to delegate decision-making to commanders in the field, which had been crucial to earlier success. The long years of fighting had also taken a heavy toll. Thousands of irreplaceable junior officers and NCOs were dead, wounded or prisoners.Renowned Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar expertly brings these contrasting fortunes to life, trends which culminated in the huge battles of Bagration. As thi

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter two years of nonstop negotiations with the Russian authorities, Jean-Christophe Brisard and Lana Parshina were granted access to secret files detailing the Soviets'' incredible hunt to recover Hitler''s body: the layout of the bunker, plans for escaping, eyewitness accounts of the Führer''s final days, and human remains-a bit of skull with traces of the lethal bullet and a fragment of jaw bone. For the first time, the skull, teeth and other elements were analysed by a medical examiner with cutting edge forensics equipment. The authors use these never before seen documents and research to reconstruct the events in fascinating new detail.Trade ReviewA thrilling investigation * L'Express *The text holds onto its historical thriller qualities and makes for a gripping read * Le Monde *Orchestrated like a spy novel, this fascinating piece of work weaves the highs and lows of the journalists's investigation with an edge-of-your-seat tale of Adolf Hitler's last days * Journal Du Dimanche *

Read more less

Book SynopsisNiccolò Machiavelli provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter what era or by whom it is exercised. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an afterword by Oliver Francis.Drawing on examples from the ancient Greeks and Romans and from Machiavelli’s contemporaries, The Prince offers – some believed with satirical intent – advice on how a ruler should preserve his power, conduct and warfare, and maintain his reputation. Machiavelli not only influenced many of the great statesmen of his age, but was also one of the founding fathers of modern political thought. The Prince, written in 1513 and published in 1532, is one of the most famous pieces of writing of all time.Trade ReviewFew books have attracted such an influential readership as The Prince -- Michael Arditti * Telegraph *Machiavelli was showing how to achieve power and hold on to it -- Lesley McDowellAt a time when pious drivel, feckless rhetoric and fatal arrogance too often rule the affairs of us all, a realist dollop of Machiavellianism might well be added to the cauldron of post-modern statecraft -- Ronald K. L. Collins * Washington Independent Review of Books *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis highly detailed, absorbing battlefield guide is the ideal companion for anyone considering visiting the site of Hitler's `Gotterdammerung' in April-May 1945. Using his in depth knowledge as a historian and battlefield guide, David McCormack vividly describes the apocalyptic struggle played out amongst the ruins of a once great city. The author's intimate knowledge of the ground ensures that the Wagnerian climax of the Third Reich is presented in a series of dramatic tableaux which capture the regime's final convulsive death throes. Prepare for a fascinating journey across the Berlin battlefield as it is today. The Berlin 1945 Battlefield Guide: Part Two-The Battle of Berlin-is the essential guide to understanding both Hitler's downfall in Berlin and Stalin's greatest triumph.Table of ContentsPart One: Exploring Battlefield Berlin; Part Two: Intrigues and deceptions; Part Three: The Paladins Depart; Part Four: Tour A: Marzahn-Pankow-Humboldthain-Gesundbrunnen: Marzahn-Viewpoint (A1): 21 April Memorial, Viewpoint (A2): Soviet Obelisk, Mausoleum and Cemetery: Pankow-Viewpoint (A3): Soviet Cemetery: Humboldthain-Viewpoint (A4): Flak Tower: Gesundbrunnen-Viewpoint (A5): Bunker Museum; Part Five: 'Are the Russians already so near?'; Part Six: Tour B: Tempelhof-Treptower Park-Kreuzberg: Tempelhof-Viewpoint (B1): Airport: Treptower Park-Viewpoint (B2): Soviet Memorial: Kreuzberg-Viewpoint (B3): Fichte Bunker; Part Seven: Banner of Victory; Part Eight: Tour C: Mitte/Tiergarten: Mitte/Tiergarten-Viewpoint (C1) Moltke Bridge, Viewpoint (C2) Reichstag, Viewpoint (C3) Soviet Tiergarten Memorial, Viewpoint (C4) Brandenburg Gate, Viewpoint (C5) Adlon Hotel, Viewpoint (C6) Site of Hitler's Bunker, Viewpoint (C7) Former Reich Aviation Ministry, Viewpoint (C8) Topography of Terror, Viewpoint (C9) Anhalter Bahnhof & Bunker; Part Nine: Surrender; Part Ten: Tour D: Mitte-Hohenschonhausen: Mitte-Viewpoint (D1): German Resistance Memorial (Former Bendlerblock), Viewpoint (D2): Weidendammer Bridge, Viewpoint (D3): Invalids' Cemetery: Hohenschonhausen-Viewpoint (D4): Schultheiss Brewery; Part Eleven: Zero Hour; Part Twelve: After Hitler; Appendix One: Joseph Goebbels-'The Year 2000'; Appendix Two: Joseph Goebbels-'Our Hitler'; Appendix Three: Joseph Goebbels-'Resist at Any Price'; Appendix Four: Adolf Hitler-'My Political Testament'; Appendix Five: Admiral Doenitz-Broadcast, 1 May 1945; Appendix Six: Joseph Stalin-Order of the Day, 1 May 1945; Appendix Seven: Joseph Stalin-Order of the Day, 9 May 1945; Appendix Eight: Joseph Stalin-Victory Speech, 9 May 1945; Appendix Nine: Joseph Stalin-Toast to the People, 24 May 1945; Appendix Ten: Joseph Stalin-Order of the Day, 22 June 1945; Appendix Eleven: Joseph Stalin-Order of the Day, 23 February 1946; Select Bibliography.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn in-depth history of the US Navy's light aircraft carrier the USS Princeton and its operational exploits in the Pacific Theater of World War II.This new history of the life and loss of the USS Princeton tells the story of one of the new class of aircraft carrier that proved essential to the US Navy's victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War. Starting life as the light cruiser Tallahassee before being converted to a light carrier as part of the plan to ramp up the strength of US naval air power, USS Princeton (CVL-23) joined the Pacific fleet in August 1943 and was immediately put to work as the United States was assembling new ships and crews for the Central Pacific campaign where the ship played a key role in conducting multiple strikes against the Japanese bastion at Rabaul. Princeton then joined Task Force 58, the Fast Carrier Task Force, and took part in the invasion of the Philippines, where the ship was lost

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What role is played by its members and partners? Does the largest military alliance ever to exist serve the cause of peace or the causes of weapons sales and war mongering? Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the alliance, this sharp, concise account examines NATO''s origins, structure, and its goals at a time of mounting global tension.NATO has remade itself repeatedly, as its past purposes have disappeared. In the last 35 years it has been part of wars in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. It has played a major role in Ukraine, and supported warmaking by Israel. NATO is now expanding rapidly, both in geography and in scope, adding partners from Colombia to Mongolia to Australia, and claiming a role in policing, immigration, economics, public budgeting, scientific research, and environmental protection.With pointed investigations of how NATO''s decisions are made, the widely mi

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn one day in June, the balance of air power in the Middle East was turned upside down by perhaps the most ruthlessly effective air superiority campaign in history Operation Moked, or Focus. In 1967, the Israeli Air Force was outnumbered more than two to one by the jets of hostile Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq. Operation Focus was Israel's ingenious strike plan to overturn the balance. At 0745hrs on June 6, Israeli jets hit Egypt's airfields simultaneously, first bombing runways and then strafing aircraft. Another 20 follow-up missions were already in the air, initially scheduled to hit every five minutes. This new history of Operation Focus explains how the concept for Focus was devised and meticulously planned, the astonishing rate of serviceability and turnaround speed it required from ground crews, and how the relentless tempo of strikes shattered one air force after another. It is the story of how Israel's vTable of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Attacker's Capabilities /Defender's Capabilities /Campaign Objectives /Order of Battle /The Campaign /Analysis /Conclusion /Bibliography /Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe most iconic planes of WWII, the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, DeHavilland Mosquito and the Avro Lancaster, were all powered by one engine, the Rolls-Royce Merlin. The story of the Merlin is one of British ingenuity at its height, of artistry and problem-solving that resulted in a war-winning design.Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day and the 80th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain, Merlin is the extraordinary story of the development of the Rolls-Royce engine that would stop Hitler from invading Britain and carry the war to the very heart of Germany.The story of the Merlin engine encompasses the history of powered flight, from the ingenuity of the Wright Brothers to the horrors of World War I, and from the first crossing of the Atlantic to the heady days of flying in the 1920s. There is also the extraordinary story of the Schneider Trophy an international contest wherein nations poised on the precipice of war competed for engineering Trade ReviewPraise for Merlin ‘Merlin paints a finer, more detailed and complete portrait of the aero engine and the people who made it than almost any other single volume on the subject …Illuminating and entertaining’ Pilot magazine ‘To get deeper into the nuts and bolts of aviation, Graham Hoyland spent a year taking apart the story of the Merlin and putting it back together in a form that roars beautifully from the very start’ Simon Calder, Independent ‘A stirring account of how these hand-wrought machines, geared for speed and encased in elegant airframes … delivered us in 1940 … Merlin depicts a heroic age of smashed land, air and water speed records … and the extreme bravery of those pioneers, who incurred many fatalities. Hoyland marries the drama and excitement with a clear focus on the technical: he puts you in the cockpit and into the very guts of the machines … Anyone with a serious interest in engineering will find much to enjoy and appreciate.’ Colin Greenwood, The Spectator Praise for Graham Hoyland ‘Illuminating and entertaining’ The Times ‘A towering work full of twists and turns’ Independent ‘Richly enjoyable’ Daily Mail

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Long Range Desert Group has a strong claim to the first Special Forces unit in the British Army. This superb illustrated history follows the LRDG from its July 1940 formation as the Long Range Patrol in North Africa, tasked with intelligence gathering, mapping and reconnaissance deep behind enemy lines. Manned initially by New Zealanders, in 1940 the unit became the LRDG with members drawn from British Guards and Yeomanry regiments and Rhodesians. So successful were the LRDG patrols, that when the Special Air Service were formed, they often relied on their navigational and tactical skills to achieve their missions. After victory in North Africa the LRDG re-located to Lebanon before being sent on the ill-fated mission to the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean. Serving independently, when the Germans overwhelmed and captured the British garrisons, many LRDG personnel escaped using their well-honed skills. Many images in this, the first pictorial history of the LRDG, were taken unofficially by serving members. The result is a superb record of the LRDG's achievements, the personalities, their weapons and vehicles which will delight laymen and specialists alike.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA detailed, fully illustrated study of the most recognizable assault rifle ever produced. The Kalashnikov AK-47 is the most ubiquitous assault rifle in the world, with more AK-47s and its variants in use than any other individual small arm. Created by Senior Sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov, and first adopted by the USSR soon after World War II, its production continues to this day, with an estimated 75 million produced worldwide. Supported by photographs and original artwork, this book takes a look at the complete history of the weapon, discussing its design, development, and usage, taking its story from the great armies of the Soviet Union to the insurgents and criminal gangs that often employ the weapon today.Table of ContentsIntroduction Development Use Impact Conclusion Further Reading

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn 24th April 2015 people around the world commemorated the centenary of the death of over one million Armenians. In their eyes, and in those of many around the world, they will be remembering a genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. Turkey has always explained the dead as simply victims of a vicious civil war, and continues to this day to refuse to acknowledge the events as constituting genocide.This argument has become, in turn, an international issue. Twenty national parliaments in democratic countries have voted to recognise the genocide, but Britain and the USA continue to equivocate for fear, it would seem, of alienating their NATO ally.In this seminal book, Geoffrey Robertson QC, a former UN appeals judge, sets out to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the massacres and deportations were a crime against humanity which amounted to genocide.Trade Review"With a brilliant display of forensic advocacy, one of the greatest legal minds on the international stage forces a shameful but inconvenient truth upon the world." Helena Kennedy QC "Geoffrey Robertson, with his usual forensic brilliance, makes the case for justice for the Armenian victims of the 1915 massacre." Sir Keir Starmer KCB QC "A devastating, searing indictment of complicity and cover-up over the extermination of one million people." Peter Hain MP

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith the publication of their previous book on the battleships of the _Littorio_ class, the authors set new standards for the detailed coverage and sophisticated analysis of Italian warship design. Inspired by its success, both critically and commercially, the authors were inspired to follow up with a similar study of the earlier Italian battleships that were built in the First World War but survived to fight in the Second. Given the level of new research required, this has taken a decade to achieve but the result is a similarly comprehensive coverage. Originally comprising five ships in two related classes, they entered service at the beginning of the Great War. As designed, they were powerful examples of the second generation of dreadnoughts, with a combination of twin and triple turrets producing a unique main armament of thirteen 12-inch guns. One ship, _Leonardo da Vinci_, was sunk by an internal explosion at Taranto in 1916, and although the hull was raised post-war, the plan to rebuild the ship was abandoned as it was not deemed cost-effective. However, the remaining four ships were to undergo one of the most radical reconstructions of any battleship class during the 1930s, emerging with an entirely new profile, more powerful machinery and all the characteristics of a modern fast battleship. In this form they became an important element in the Italian fleet that opposed the British after 1940\. This book covers all the technical details of the ships, both as built and as rebuilt, but also provides an extended history of their active service, including battle plans and track charts. Thoroughly illustrated with photographs, ship and armament plans, detail drawings and colour camouflage schemes, the book is a fitting companion to _The Littorio Class_.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen British soldiers charged across the Somme in September 1916, they were accompanied by a new, revolutionary weapon--the tank. After a stuttering start, armored behemoths such as the Mark IV, Mark V, and Whippet Tank played a crucial role in bringing World War I to an end.Marking the centenary of their battlefield debut, this comprehensive volume traces the design and development of the famous British weapon system, from the initial concept of a steam-powered tank during the Crimean War, to the role the British military played in creating the infamous German Blitzkrieg tactic of World War II. Bolstered by historic photographs and stunning illustrations, author David Fletcher brings us the thrilling history behind British tanks of the First World War.Table of ContentsNVG 100 BRITISH TANK MARK 1 NVG 133 BRITISH TANK MARK IV NVG 178 BRITISH TANK MARK V NVG 207 MEDIUM MARK A WHIPPET NVG 217 BRITISH LIGHT TANKS 1927-1945

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA Daily Mail Royal Book of the Year, 2021'Darkly compelling...hundreds of eye-popping details...Gripping ... damning portrait of the Windsors' Daily Mail 'Book of the Week''Briskly written and compulsively readable...' - A.N. Wilson, TLS'Meticulously researched' - Spectator'Entertaining... convincing... timely. Urgent reading for royals' - Evening StandardDecember 1936. The King of England, Edward VIII, has given up his Crown, foregoing his duty for the love of Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée. Their courtship has been dogged by controversy and scandal, but with Edward's abdication, they can live happily ever after. But do they?In Traitor King, bestselling historian Andrew Lownie draws on hitherto unexplored archives to uncover the dramatic world of the Windsors post-abdication. Lownie reveals a couple obsessed with their status, financially exploiting their position and manipulating the media. Filled with treachery and betrayal, this is a story of an exiled Royal and the Nazi attempts to recruit him to their cause. And of why the Royal family never forgave the Duke for choosing love over duty.Trade ReviewLownie expertly captures the extravagance (they never travelled with fewer than 73 pieces of luggage), the sense of entitlement, the snobbery, the vanity, the selfpity, the bone-idle laziness, the fundamental uselessness of their lives as outcasts. 'I never saw a man so bored,' said one acquaintance. Should this be required reading in a certain household in Montecito, California? * Daily Mail History Books of the Year *Meticulously researched * Spectator *Briskly written and compulsively readable...Does Andrew Lownie persuade me that it is worth telling the story again, and that he has made out the case for his unforgiving title? The answer is an unambiguous yes. -- A.N. Wilson * TLS *Entertaining... convincing... timely. Urgent reading for royals * Evening Standard *Darkly compelling...hundreds of eye-popping details...Gripping though it is, this is an unrelentingly damning portrait of the Windsors * Daily Mail *Compelling... a devastating portrait of the duke and duchess... a timely point of comparison when set against the ongoing trials and tribulations of the House of Windsor * The Tablet *Lownie reveals Edward not as a dupe of the Nazis, but an active and culpable collaborator...The list of individuals interviewed and archives consulted is formidable. The more impressive then, that this is a wonderfully readable and succinct story * BBC History Magazine *Thoroughly researched and compelling narrative of one of the most controversial periods in royal history. -- Andrew MortonAndrew Lownie has a remarkable ability to fashion a compelling narrative from raw archive text and personal reminiscence. His Traitor King (Blink, £25), about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and their questionable cohorts, is every bit as absorbing as his earlier history of the Mountbattens. -- Andrew Lycett, Spectator Books of the Year'definitively answering some of the enduring mysteries ...Lownie fearlessly yet fairly provides the answers. Lownie appears to have red every book ever written about the Windsors and drilled deep into unpublished archives as well...Lownie has dug into the couple's complex love lives just as deeply...The full ghastly truth about them has remained obscure until now, partly thanks to a judicious cover-up by the British Establishment...' -- History TodayMeticulously researched and with so much new material on one of the most controversial Royals of the 20th century. Lownie reveals shocking new aspects to the life of Edward, Duke of Windsor, and firmly placed the Duke as a traitor to his country. -- Aspects of Historythis "explosive new royal biography" (front-cover blurb) by the highly regarded author of books about Guy Burgess and the Mountbattens,.. a biographer as serious and scholarly as Andrew Lownie ...Lownie gives heft to George Orwell's famous observation that the England of that time was a family, but one "with the wrong members in control" * Times Book of the Week *"Andrew Lownie's compelling volume... an unflattering portrait of this entitled couple." * Daily Mail Books of the Year 2021 *Through meticulous research Lownie makes a convincing argument for the duke's treachery...Edward is revealed for what he was: a traitor to the British people and an ally to Hitler....Academic in its tone and shocking in its contents Lownie goes where no royal biography has gone before. It sheds new light on British history and during the Second World War and would make for a stellar tv series. * The Lady *Compelling and conclusive. * Clive Irving, bestselling author of The Last Queen *Andrew Lownie does not pull his punches. His well researched biography of the former Edward V111, before and after his abdication, will shock even the most loyal royalist. * Sir Christopher Ondaatje, author of The Last Colonial *An absorbing and easily digestible book * Telegraph *This readable, damning synthesis confirms that Edward's abdication was the free world's good fortune. * Wall St Journal *Compelling and conclusive. Wallis Simpson performed a great service to the Windsors by removing Edward VIII from the throne. As Andrew Lownie definitively proves, he was totally unfit to be king and his willingness to be Hitler's satrap would have finished the monarchy. * Clive Irving, bestselling author of The Last Queen *Lownie has uncovered an array of new sources regarding the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and he exhibits a sovereign command of the existing biographies. Tackling the most sensitive subjects-the Duke and Duchess' sexuality, their pro-Nazi views, their problematic behavior during the war, and the complicated nature of their relationship-Lownie has painted the most convincing portrait of the couple to date. The results are fascinating. * Jonathan Petropoulos, author of Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany *"Lownie gathers convincing evidence of Edward's collaboration with Germany and amasses a wealth of new material, including intimate details about the Duchess's affair with American socialite James Donahue. Royal watchers will be riveted." * Publishers Weekly *Lownie's well-researched and comprehensive book proves there's more to learn about the couple. Readers will find not salacious gossip but careful analysis and an accurate portrait of an unpleasant, grasping, manipulative couple trying to find purpose in their lives. Edward later publicly renounced the worst Nazi offenses, but his friendships, comments, and antisemitism reveal another truth. Crisp prose, meticulous research, and careful objectivity make Lownie's biography accessible to all readers. * Library Journal *'Does anyone want to read yet another book about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor? Perhaps not, but if you tackle this most recent one, there will be no need to read any more on the subject. Among the dozens of biographies, memoirs, diaries, novels, documentaries, interviews, musicals, dramas, and films that have emerged over the last eighty years, none-until Andrew Lownie's book Traitor King-has fully uncovered the devastating truth of what the two were really up to in their collaboration with Hitler and the Nazi Party' * Criterion *'...admirably detached and well supported by evidence....an agreeably unsentimental approach to the narrative.' * Jonathan Keates *

Read more less

Book SynopsisExtraordinary times. Extraordinary courage.Here, from the bestselling author of The Great Escape, are eight true and startling escape stories from the Second World War.The heroism of the servicemen who dared to defy their captors in this volume is matched only by that of the underground movements and ordinary civilians who helped the escapees in these stories of daring, invention and doggedness against the odds.From the account of the Spitfire pilot left for dead by an execution squad in Sicily to the story of the air gunner forced to blag his way across the Baltic, every one is an unputdownable classic.‘As long as there are prisons men will try to escape from them; and as long as there is an RAF it will bring to the problems of escape the qualities of high resource, pure cussedness and that indefinable, damnably annoying refusal to lie down when dead, of which all the stories in this book are such excellent - and, I think, such exciting - examples.’ H.E. Bates

Read more less

Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of the legendary armoured vehicles of the Panzerwaffe, Germany''s most famous fighting force.The first two volumes of the History of the Panzerwaffe have described how the Germans transformed armoured warfare from a lumbering and ponderous experiment in World War I into something that could decide the outcome of conflicts, and how the legendary Panzerwaffe overran Western Europe and reached the gates of Moscow to the east, before taking its place in the forefront of German defence from the D-Day landings to the valiant last stand in Berlin.This third volume focuses on the most important units in the Panzerwaffe, and some of the most famous units in the history of warfare: the Panzer Divisions. It details their pre-war origins and how they developed over the course of the war, covering all the specialized units and how they operated on the battlefield.The title is illustrated throughout with many rare and previously unpublished images and theTable of ContentsIntroduction 1: Origins 2: The Elements of a Panzer Division 3: The Panzer Division 4: Rifle Brigade 5: Combat Elements 6: Ancillary Units Index Acknowledgements

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisDescribes and illustrates the full range of Dutch resistance groups and German and collaborationist counter-resistance groups during the Nazi occupation in 1940-45.The Nazi occupation of the Netherlands was a complex, varied and bloody affair. Well- documented is the initial capture by the Gestapo of a secret Dutch Special Operations Executive radio-operator who thereafter lured several parachuted agents to their deaths, but, the actual scope and complexity of the occupation was much greater than this. Large-scale civil resistance against the occupation began as early as February 1941, and 1943 saw assassinations, reprisals, and the development of various resistance groups the LKP National Assault Teams and some ''wild'' armed groups: the left wing RzV and the conservative OD. In addition, several overlapping Dutch organizations amalgamated in September 1944 into the NBS: ''Netherlands Interior Forces''. In return, the Germans created the collaborationist Landwacht sTrade ReviewThe story of the country's occupation is not a subject widely covered and this book redresses that in a highly informative way that goes beyond what the reader may think they already know. -- John Norris * Gun Mart & Militaria Mart magazine *I found this taught me a lot that I had not known before, so a good value addition to your references, and with artwork which is likely to attract many modellers with the inspiration/reference of some less familiar uniforms to try. -- Robin Buckland * Military Model Scene *'An abundance of books has been written about resistance and collaboration in the Netherlands during the Second World War, but not too many of them in English. Klaas Castelein from Duiven and Michel Wenting from Doesburg did write about it in English.' 'We realized that most books about resistance and collaboration had been written in Dutch. As a result, foreigners cannot disclose any information about this, yet its history is incredibly fascinating.' Wenting and Castelein sketch a balanced view: 'In some parts of the country the Resistance seriously contributed to the liberation, but in other parts they got passionately engaged in exacting vengeance on Germans and collaborators'. -- Piet Venhuizen * De Gelderlander *Table of ContentsFASCISM IN THE PRE-WAR NETHERLANDS Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB, National Socialist Movement) Nationale Jeugdstorm (NJS, National Youth Force) Nationaal-Socialistische Nederlandse Arbeiderspartij (NSNAP, National Socialist Netherlands Workers’ Party) Zwart Front (ZF, Black Front) and Nationaal Front (NF, National Front) Grauwe Vendels (GV, Grey Banners) THE MILITARY OCCUPATION, 1940–45 THE SECURITY APPARATUS General Commission for Security Local security forces: Nazification of the Dutch police Wachtmannen (Watchmen) Kontroll-Kommando (KK, Control Guard) Nederlandse Landwacht (LW, Home Guard) Landstorm Nederland (LSN, Territorial Defence Force) GROWTH OF THE RESISTANCE, 1940–44 Continuing the fight from Great Britain The ‘England Game’ Emergence of the first resistance movements: Communistische Partij Nederland (CPN, Netherlands Communist Party) Geuzen (‘Beggars’) Ordedienst (OD, Order Service) CS-6 Raad van Verzet (RVV, Resistance Council) Three women RVV fighters Landelijke Organisatie voor Hulp aan Onderduikers (LO, National Organizationfor Help to People in Hiding) The decisive general strike, April–May 1943 Landelijke Knokploegen (LKP, National Assault Teams) Prison raids OPEN WARFARE, FROM SEPTEMBER 1944 ALLIED LIBERATION OPERATIONS, 1944–45 GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar, this is the engrossing story of the German resurgence after the battle of Stalingrad. Containing haunting first-hand accounts of the horrors of life on the front line, this gripping narrative reveals in startling detail the story of a bitter struggle for survival against terrible odds.The battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of World War II. The German capture of the city, their encirclement by Soviet forces shortly afterwards, and the hard-fought but futile attempts to relieve them, saw bitter attritional fighting and extremes of human misery inflicted on both sides. The surrender of General Friedrich von Paulus'' army left Germany''s eastern armies severely weakened, but the Red Army had suffered enormous losses as it overreached itself in trying to exploit its great victory. The war was not over. Germany would continue the fight, and the battles that took place in the winter of 1942/43 would Trade ReviewAlthough it's only part of the story, it's a richly detailed history worth reading for any student of the Eastern Front. * The Armourer, January 2019 *This is another impressive work from Buttar, who is one of my favourite authors currently writing on the Eastern Front of both World Wars. -- Dr John Rickard * historyofwar.org *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. _Victoria Crosses on the Western Front: Battles of the Scarpe & Drocourt- Queant Line_, is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all: parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times bestsellerOne of the most dramatic forgotten chapters of the war, as told in a new book by the incomparable Max Hastings' DAILY MAILIn August 1942, beleaguered Malta was within weeks of surrender to the Axis, because its 300,000 people could no longer be fed. Churchill made a personal decision that at all costs, the island fortress' must be saved. This was not merely a matter of strategy, but of national prestige, when Britain's fortunes and morale had fallen to their lowest ebb.The largest fleet the Royal Navy committed to any operation of the western war was assembled to escort fourteen fast merchantmen across a thousand of miles of sea defended by six hundred German and Italian aircraft, together with packs of U-boats and torpedo craft. The Mediterranean battles that ensued between 11 and 15 August were the most brutal of Britain's war at sea, embracing four aircraft-carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers, scores of destroyers and smaller craft. The losses were aTrade Review The #1 Times bestseller and #3 Sunday Times bestseller (May 2021) ‘Over this past year of pandemic, we’ve lost so much. People have died, great institutions have gone under, life itself seems permanently altered. Yet one certainty remains: Max Hastings still churns out military histories, and they continue to be outstanding. This book like all the others … is a cracker. With his usual combination of sensitivity to human suffering and superb dramatic instinct, Hastings has given us a gripping tale …The immediacy of this book obliterates the cold detachment that time’s passage usually allows … We feel in our bones torpedoes hitting home … the four-day ordeal British sailors endured … is a drama superbly told …The delight lies in the detail, the percussive power of tiny facts …is what makes Hastings such a superb storyteller’The Times ‘Superb … as ever Hastings gives excellent pen portraits of the personalities involved … Hastings has written many wonderful books … but few combine so well his unique gifts as a historian: an understanding of human nature, a nose for a telling quotation, and the ability to write gripping prose’Sunday Telegraph ‘The white-knuckle ride of Hastings’s gripping narrative … is a high-octane adventure served up with torpedoes, Stuka dive bombers and catastrophic U-boat attacks … heart-stirring …memorable … and highly readable’Sunday Times ‘One of the most dramatic forgotten chapters of the war, as told in a new book by the incomparable Max Hastings’Daily Mail ‘Veteran military historian Hastings’ first full-length narrative of war at sea measures up to his usual high standards … Vividly chronicling the sinking of the aircraft carrier Eagle, Hastings initiates 250 pages of gripping fireworks and insights … Another enthralling Hastings must-read’Kirkus, starred review

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the long awaited one-volume campaign history from the leading experts of the decisive clash of Nazi and Soviet forces at Stalingrad; an abridged edition of the five volume Stalingrad Trilogy.Trade ReviewAs always, Glantz and House have produced a thoroughly researched and detailed account of the Stalingrad campaign that offers cogent analysis of both German and Soviet strengths and weaknesses. In forgetting their original goal, the oil of the Caucasus, the Germans squandered a chance at victory and allowed the increasingly competent Soviet command time to organize an effective resistance. As they demonstrate, Stalingrad might not have been the turning point of the war, but it did mark the point at which it was unlikely Germany could win any sort of war." - Stephen G. Fritz, author of Ostkrieg: Hitler’s War of Extermination in the East"Concise and concentrated yet sacrificing no essential detail. A master class in strategic and operational analysis. A fine achievement." - Frank Ellis, author of Stalingrad Cauldron and Barbarossa 1941Table of Contents List of Maps, Tables, and Photographs Preface and Acknowledgments Prologue Part One: The Limits of Maneuver Warfare, 1942 1. Opposing Forces 2. Plans and Preparations 3. Preliminary Battles, April-June 1942 4. Punch and Counterpunch: Blau I and II, June-July 1942 5. The German Advance to the Don and the Volga Part Two: To the Caucasus and the Volga 6. Struggles on the Flanks, 25 July - 11 September 1942 8. The Battle for Central and Southern Stalingrad, 13-26 September 1942 9. The German Assault on the Workers' Villages 10. The Struggle for the Factories 11. The Final German Advances Part Three: The Encirclement of Sixth Army 12. The Genesis of Operation Uranus 13. The Advent of Uranus 14. Penetration and Encirclement, November 1942 15. Tightening the Noose, November 1942 Part Four: The Death of Sixth Army 16. Relief Attempts and Pressuring the Pocket, 1-15 December 1942 17. Little Saturn and the Failure of Relief Efforts 18. The Condemned Army 19. The Destruction 20. Conclusions Notes Selected Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Gripping ... A terrific action narrative' Max Hastings 'Reads like a Tom Clancy thriller, yet every word is true ... This is modern warfare close-up and raw' Andrew Roberts Bestselling and Orwell Prize-winning author Toby Harnden tells the gripping and incredible story of the six-day battle that began the War in Afghanistan and how it set the scene for twenty years of conflict. The West is in shock. Al-Qaeda has struck the US on 9/11 and thousands are dead.Within weeks, UK Special Forces enter the fray in Afghanistan alongside the CIA's Team Alpha and US troops.Victory is swift, but fragile. Hundreds of jihadists surrender and two operatives from Team Alpha enter Qala-i Jangi – the 'Fort of War' – to interrogate them. The prisoners revolt, one CIA man falls, and the other is trapped inside the fort. Seven members of the SBS – elite British Special Forces – volunteer for the rescue force and race into danger and the unknown.The six-day battle that follows proves to be one of the bloodiest of the Afghanistan war as the SBS and their American comrades face an enemy determined to die in the mud citadel.Superbly researched, First Casualty is based on unprecedented access to the CIA, SBS, and US Special Forces. Orwell Prize-winning author Toby Harnden recounts the gripping story of that first battle in Afghanistan and how the haunting foretelling it contained – unreliable allies, ethnic rivalries, suicide attacks, and errant bombs – was ignored, fueling the twenty-year conflict to come.Trade Review'Gripping ... A terrific action narrative' -- Max Hastings'Reads like a Tom Clancy thriller, yet every word is true ... This is modern warfare close-up and raw' -- Andrew Roberts'Meticulously researched and told with page-turning pace and power' * Waterstones, Politics Books of the Year *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis balanced and well overdue account hopefully ensures that Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park receives the credit for victory that he so richly deserves.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLetters from the Trenches provides an accessible, unique perspective on the experiences of soldiers and their families for the First World War centenary.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn authentic account of this famous unit written by its wartime Intelligence Officer. Reconnaissance operations deep within enemy-held territory. The capture of the key desert oasis of Kufra. Combined raids with the SAS.

Read more less

Book Synopsis100-year-old Benjamin Ferencz is the last surviving prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials, where he prosecuted 22 leading Nazis. MAKE IT COUNT follows the story of Ben's life, and each chapter includes his learnings on how we can all make the most of ours - from the subjects of ambition and determination, to happiness and love.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn October 1963, President Kennedy proposed withdrawing from Vietnam, gaining him a durable reputation as a skeptic on the war. However, drawing on secret White House tapes, Marc Selverstone reveals that JFK never had a firm intention to withdraw. The real value of the proposal lay in obtaining political cover for his open-ended Vietnam policy.Trade ReviewIn this worthy book, Selverstone…takes a deep dive into whether or not Kennedy would have greatly escalated the war as Johnson did within two years after assuming the presidency…Revealing. -- Marc Leepson * Vietnam Veterans of America *Offers an intriguing deep dive into a topic long debated among scholars of the Vietnam War: had President Kennedy not been assassinated, would he have followed through on his plans to withdraw U.S. troops, or drastically escalated the conflict, as his successor Lyndon Johnson did?…Scrupulous and revealing, this is a persuasive answer to one of the Vietnam War’s biggest what-ifs. * Publishers Weekly *Selverstone dissects one of the last enduring shibboleths of the Cold War: the Camelot myth that President John F. Kennedy would have avoided the quagmire of Vietnam had he lived. -- Michael Hirsh * Foreign Policy *A splendid work. I doubt there is any scholar anywhere who knows the archival material better than Selverstone does, and he is surely unsurpassed in his familiarity with the Kennedy tapes. His prose is consistently smooth, clear, and engaging. This book will be the go-to account on Kennedy and the Vietnam War for a long time to come. -- Fredrik Logevall, author of JFK and the Pulitzer Prize–winning Embers of WarHad JFK lived, would he have withdrawn from Vietnam or sent in American regular troops, as Johnson did? This question has been a matter of intense debate since the war ended in 1975. Selverstone provides a fascinating look at what the president and his advisors said about the war in private, and what that can tell us about Kennedy’s views on withdrawal. -- Frances FitzGerald, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in VietnamWith the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, the courage of a mountaineer, and the storytelling instincts of a mystery writer, Selverstone tackles head-on one of the most tantalizing what-ifs in modern history. The Kennedy Withdrawal weighs all the evidence, from every angle, to render a verdict that is at once surprising, convincing, and authoritative. This will surely be the definitive account of JFK’s intentions in Vietnam. -- Andrew Preston, author of American Foreign Relations: A Very Short IntroductionThis pathbreaking book redefines the terms of the long-running debate over John Kennedy’s Vietnam withdrawal plan. Weaving analysis and narrative together in compelling fashion, Selverstone cuts through the Camelot mythology to reveal the bureaucratic and political origins of the plan, as well as the reasons for its subsequent abandonment. A major contribution from a preeminent historian of JFK’s foreign policies. -- Edward Miller, author of Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam

Read more less