Military History Books
Oxford University Press Inc Fire and Rain Nixon Kissinger and the Wars in
Book SynopsisOffering a fresh perspective on the American war in Southeast Asia and superpower diplomacy during the Nixon-Kissinger years, this gripping work drawing on thousands of declassified documents and tapes to provide a startling account of the mpact of high-level decisions in Washington on people in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the United States.Trade ReviewWith over 30,000 books published on the Vietnam War, does it make sense to write another book about the conflict waged by the United States in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam between 1957 and 1973? Reading Fire and Rain, the answer is affirmative for several reasons. * Mariano Aguirre , International Affairs *Eisenberg's account reads as easily as a novel....In detailing Nixon and Kissinger's (often secret) overtures to and negotiations with the Communist superpowers of China and the Soviet Union...Eisenberg stresses that the pair often circumvented their own State Department....This is...a recurring theme: the increasing number of concessions made, in secret, to Communist powers while ostensibly fighting Communism in South Vietnam. * Sarah Cords, The Progressive *A gripping narrative of America's war in Vietnam during its fateful, concluding years, replete with intrigue, manipulation, self-deception, and mindless brutality. Fire and Rain is a vividly written, even harrowing book. Carolyn Eisenberg has produced a masterpiece. * Andrew Bacevich, author of On Shedding an Obsolete Past: Bidding Farewell to the American Century *Even experts on Vietnam will be surprised at the revelations in Carolyn Eisenberg's Fire and Rain. Deploying a wealth of declassified documents, archival finds, and eyewitness accounts, Fire and Rain paints a sweeping, panoramic, and devastating portrait of the war that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger waged, a fatal fraud on America and Southeast Asia. * Ken Hughes, author of Fatal Politics: The Nixon Tapes, the Vietnam War, and the Casualties of Reelection *An impressive work of diplomatic history, Carolyn Eisenberg's Fire and Rain convincingly reveals how Richard Nixon's and Henry Kissinger's catastrophic war in Southeast Asia set the course of subsequent US diplomacy with Russia and China. This book should be widely read. * Greg Grandin, Yale University *A formidable achievement. Carolyn Eisenberg's Fire and Rain is a brilliant and deeply shocking biography of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. Relying on Kissinger's own telephone transcripts and newly declassified presidential papers, Eisenberg's measured narrative strips away all the lies and myths to document how these deeply flawed men single-handedly prolonged the Vietnam war. It is an all too human tale of deception and incompetence. Kissinger's vaunted reputation will never recover from a book destined to become a classic history of the Vietnam tragedy. * Kai Bird, Leon Levy Center for Biography *Accessibly written and meticulously researched, Fire and Rain is a thought-provoking and important book on the American war in Vietnam. * Daniel R. Hart, VVA Veteran *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: "This is Not Frivolous, Mr. Chairman!" Part I: The War Chapter 1:"Mired in Stalemate" Chapter 2:"We Will Hit Them without Warning" Chapter 3:"I See Death Coming Up the Hill" Chapter 4:"It Makes Our Position Murder" Chapter 5:"Blow Their Candles Out" Chapter 6:"You Shouldn't Kill That Many" Chapter 7:"The Idealists Are the Builders" Chapter 8:"Hit 'Em in the Gut" Chapter 9:"The Great Mystery of Life" Chapter 10:"The Greatest Success" Chapter 11:"Enjoy the Breeze" Chapter 12:"We Might Have Burned Your House" Chapter 13:"Something Like a Moron" Chapter 14:"Take A Stinking Hill" Chapter 15:"Everyone Was Crying" Chapter 16:"Bring Our Brothers Home" Part II: War and Diplomacy Chapter 17:"You've Only Got One Card" Chapter 18:"Man of Peace" Chapter 19:"Knock the Shit Out of Them" Chapter 20:"Seize the Hour! Seize the Day" Chapter 21:"The Whole Ground Shakes" Chapter 22:"Let Us Think of Tanya" Chapter 23:"Four More Years" Chapter 24:"You're Three for Three, Mr. President" Chapter 25:"Miserable, Filthy People" Chapter 26:"A Terrific Let-down" Chapter 27:"Let the Americans See Me" Epilogue:"We Were Serious People!" Notes Bibliography Index
£26.12
Stackpole Books Helicopter Heroine
Book Synopsis
£27.00
The History Press Ltd From Gaza to Jerusalem: The Campaign for Southern
Book SynopsisThe Palestine campaign of 1917 saw Britain’s armed forces rise from defeat to achieve stunning victory. After two failed attempts in the spring, at the end of the year they broke through the Ottoman line with an innovative mixture of old and new technology and tactics, and managed to advance over 50 miles, from Gaza to Jerusalem, in only two months. As well as discussions of military strategy, Stuart Hadaway’s gripping narrative of the campaign gives a broad account of the men on both sides who lived and fought in the harsh desert conditions of Palestine, facing not only brave and determined enemies, but also the environment itself: heat, disease and an ever-present thirst.Involving Ottoman, ANZAC, British and Arab forces, the campaign saw great empires manoeuvring for the coveted Holy Land. It was Britain’s victory in 1917, however, that redrew the maps of the Middle East and shaped the political climate for the century to come.
£13.49
Burnet Media The MiG Diaries: Fighter Pilot Memoirs & Accounts
Book Synopsis
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Dark Waters Starry Skies
Book SynopsisA fast-paced and absorbing read of the final months of the vital Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign during the Pacific War.Thousands of miles from friendly ports, the US Navy fought to turn the tide of World War II. Jeffrey Cox turns his razor-sharp focus to these final months of the Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign. This is the central plotline running through this page-turning history beginning with the Japanese Operation I and the American ambush of Admiral Yamamoto; continuing with the Allied invasions of New Georgia, Bougainville, and the central and upper Solomons; and ending with the isolation of the Japanese base at Rabaul.While the ambush of Yamamoto has received considerable attention in the intervening years, the remainder of this campaign, surprisingly, has not. Using first-hand accounts from both sides, this book vividly recreates all the terror and drama of these nighttime naval battles fought to secure the Allied landings. The reader can easily imagine
£15.29
Encounter Books,USA Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968
Book SynopsisTriumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965–1968 is the long-awaited sequel to the immensely influential Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965. Like its predecessor, this book overturns the conventional wisdom using a treasure trove of new sources, many of them from the North Vietnamese side. Rejecting the standard depiction of U.S. military intervention as a hopeless folly, it shows America’s war to have been a strategic necessity that could have ended victoriously had President Lyndon Johnson heeded the advice of his generals. In light of Johnson’s refusal to use American ground forces beyond South Vietnam, General William Westmoreland employed the best military strategy available. Once the White House loosened the restraints on Operation Rolling Thunder, American bombing inflicted far greater damage on the North Vietnamese supply system than has been previously understood, and it nearly compelled North Vietnam to capitulate. The book demonstrates that American military operations enabled the South Vietnamese government to recover from the massive instability that followed the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem. American culture sustained public support for the war through the end of 1968, giving South Vietnam realistic hopes for long-term survival. America’s defense of South Vietnam averted the imminent fall of key Asian nations to Communism and sowed strife inside the Communist camp, to the long-term detriment of America’s great-power rivals, China and the Soviet Union.Trade ReviewTHE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO TRIUMPH FORSAKEN: THE VIETNAM WAR, 1954–1965 “This second book in what will be a seminal trilogy is impeccably researched and elegantly written. Mark Moyar availed himself of newly available materials to shed fresh light and understanding on a crucial period of the Vietnam War. Triumph Regained poses a compelling reinterpretation that is bound to make uncomfortable those who contributed to or accepted the conventional wisdom on the war that emerged across the past half century.”—H. R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World “Triumph Regained expertly chronicles the grit, courage, and sacrifice of the American fighting man during the Vietnam War and provides clear-eyed analysis of the strategic and political imperatives that motivated both sides of the conflict. Mark Moyar is reclaiming the honorable legacy of a generation of American warriors and proving the truth of Ronald Reagan’s belief that Vietnam was a ‘noble cause.’ We should be proud of the patriotic Americans who served in Vietnam and never forget that politicians in Washington squandered their sacrifices.”—Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) “No serious scholar has done more in recent years to challenge the entrenched consensus on the Vietnam War than historian Mark Moyar. In Triumph Regained, he presents bold new insights that compel us to question the conventional wisdom on the war from the onset of its Americanization in 1965 to the Tet Offensive of 1968. Captivating from start to finish, the book is as audacious as it is thought-provoking—and necessary.”—Pierre Asselin, professor of history and Dwight E. Stanford Chair in American Foreign Relations, San Diego State University “Using newly available documents and re-interpreting old, Moyar invites us to revisit the 1970s clichéd narratives of strategy and policy in the early years of America's war in Vietnam.”—Jeffrey Race, author of War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province
£32.39
Thames and Hudson Ltd The DDay Atlas
Book SynopsisCharles Messenger spent nineteen years in the Royal Tank Regiment before pursuing a career as a military historian and defence analyst. He is the author of over 40 books, including The Art of Blitzkrieg, The Commandos 1940 1946 and The Second World War in the West. He has also written biographies of three of the major German players in Normandy von Rundstedt, Rommel and Sepp Dietrich. He has written and co-directed major television series for BBC Worldwide. James Holland is an author and broadcaster who specialises in World War II. He is the author of both fiction and non-fiction books on the subject, including Normandy 44': D-Day and the Battle for France. He is also the co-founder of the Chalke Valley History Festival and presents the podcast We Have Ways of Making you Talk with Al Murray.
£20.00
Faber & Faber Looking for Trouble
Book SynopsisThis sensational 1941 memoir of life on wartime Europe's frontline by a trailblazing female reporter is an 'unforgettable' (The Times) rediscovered classic, introduced by Christina Lamb.Paris as it fell to the NazisLondon on the first day of the BlitzBerlin the day Germany invaded PolandMadrid in the Spanish Civil WarPrague during the Munich crisisLapland as the Russians attackedMoscow betrayed by the GermansVirginia Cowles has seen it all.As a pioneering female correspondent, she reported from the frontline of 1930s Europe into WWII always in the right place at the right time. Flinging off her heels under shellfire; meeting Hitler ('an inconspicuous little man'); gossiping with Churchill by his goldfish pond; dancing in the bomb-blasted Ritz ... Introduced by Christina Lamb, Cowles' incredible dispatches make you an eyewitness to the twentieth century as you haveTrade Review'A brilliant describer with an uncanny ability to be present in the right country when it falls into the abyss ... One of the most atmospheric war descriptions I've read ... Unforgettable.' - The Times'An amazingly brilliant reporter ... One of the most engrossing [books] the war has produced in all its diverse richness of drama and compassion and penetration and wit.' - New York Times
£11.69
The History Press Ltd Hitler's Heroine: Hanna Reitsch
Book SynopsisHanna Reitsch longed to fly. Having broken records and earned the respect of the Nazi regime, she was the first female Luftwaffe test pilot, and eventually became Adolf Hitler’s personal heroine.An ardent Nazi, Hanna was prepared to die for the cause, first as a test pilot for the dangerous V1 flying bombs and later by volunteering for a suggested Nazi ‘kamikaze’ squadron. After her capture she complained bitterly of not being able to die with her leader, but she went on to have a celebrated post-war flying career. She died at the age of 67, creating a new mystery – did Hanna kill herself using the cyanide pill Hitler had given her over thirty years earlier? Hitler’s Heroine reveals new facts about the mysterious pilot and cuts through the many myths that have surrounded her life and death, bringing this fascinating woman back to life for the twenty-first century.
£11.69
Greenhill Books Congo Mercenary
Book SynopsisI make no apologies for being a mercenary soldier. Quite the reverse. I am proud to have led 5 Commando. I am proud to have fought shoulder to shoulder with the toughest and bravest band of men it has ever been my honour to command. I am proud that they stood when all else failed.' In July 1964, four years after gaining independence from Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo came under threat from an armed rebellion that spread rapidly through the country. To suppress the rebels and bring the unrest and bloodshed in the country under control, Congolese officials enlisted the help of mercenary leader Mike Hoare. Working alongside military officials, Hoare assembled a band of several hundred men that became known as 5 Commando'. In Congo Mercenary, Hoare tells the story of the role that these men played in the rebellion, describing in gripping detail how this band of mercenaries were recruited, trained, and how they swept through the country. His team undertook four campaigns in just 18 months during which they fought rebels, liberated Stanleyville, freed European hostages and brought order back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hoare's experiences in the Congo and his involvement in suppressing the Simba rebellion were hugely significant from a political and a military standpoint. His influence, however, did not stop there. This account of his time in the Congo was fist published in 1967 and had a huge cultural impact, as well, contributing to the glorification of the mercenary lifestyle in magazines and pulp novels, and even inspiring the 1978 war film The Wild Geese starring Richard Burton and Roger Moore.
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers The Young Alexander
Book SynopsisPopular history at its very best, thought-provoking and accessible. Underpinned by serious research, and written with panache, it summons up a vanished world' SUNDAY TELEGRAPHThis is an astonishing new account of Alexander the Great one of the most important figures of the ancient world, whose earlier years have until now been a mystery. Alexander the Great's story often reads like fiction: son to a snake-loving mother and a battle-scarred father; tutored by Aristotle; a youth from the periphery of the Greek world who took part in his first campaign aged sixteen, becoming king of Macedon at twenty and king of Asia by twenty-five; leading his armies into battle like a Homeric figure.Each generation has peered through the frosted glass of history and come to their own conclusion about Alexander, be it enlightened ruler, military genius, megalomaniac, drunkard or despot. Yet the first two decades of his life have until now been a mystery a matter of legend and myth. This extraordinary hTrade Review‘The Young Alexander is popular history at its very best, thought-provoking and accessible. Underpinned by serious research, and written with panache, it summons up a vanished world.’Sunday Telegraph, FIVE STARS ‘As a colourful and learned evocation of the great conqueror’s shaping boyhood it’s a wonderful read’Daily Mail ‘Lively … Alex Rowson has produced an absorbing re-creation of the early years’The Times ‘Securely anchored to archaeological sites – so evocatively described I was tempted to pack my bag and grab my passport on more than one occasion – and suffused with well-researched historical detail. There is no reason why history cannot double as entertainment, in fact there’s an argument to be had that it should. Rowson achieves this in spades’Archaeology Worldwide
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Union Army 186165 3
Book SynopsisThis book describes and illustrates the uniforms and personal equipment of the troops fielded by the Midwestern and Western states that fought for the Union during the Civil War. During the American Civil War, the United States Army, pitted against the forces of the fledgling Confederacy, fought to defend and preserve the Union during five long years of bitter conflict. As the war continued into 1862 and beyond, both sides mobilized huge numbers of troops, necessitating a massive expansion of military logistics in order to clothe, equip and feed the soldiers as they fought on a variety of fronts, from California to Virginia.This volume, the third in a three-part study, describes and illustrates the uniforms, insignia and personal equipment of the soldiers fielded by the Midwestern and Western states for the Union cause. While the majority of these troops were infantry, substantial numbers of artillery, cavalry and other specialists such as riflemen and enginee
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Hero City
Book SynopsisOne of the greatest ever sieges is masterfully brought to life by a leading expert on the Eastern Front. At the height of World War II the people of Leningrad endured a bitter 900-day siege, struggling against bombing, shelling, and starvation. Prit Buttar tells the story of how the siege was finally broken. The Red Army had suffered multiple setbacks in the preceding two years but achieved a partial success by breaking the blockage in early 1943. However, this was followed by further failed attempts to lift the siege completely. But by simply enduring the siege in the face of impossible odds, Russian soldiers and civilians beat the Germans. By the end of 1943 the German forces, themselves broken by deprivations and extreme weather, began to pull back. Here was the opportunity the Soviet forces had been waiting for. The Red Army launched a decisive attack that broke through and ended the siege. Their determination to hold out has become a hugely significant pa
£25.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Operation Bagration
Book Synopsis_Operation Bagration_ analyses the great Russian offensive in Belorussia in the summer of 1944 covering the planning of the operation as well as the German plans of the summer campaign of 1944. In depth research sets out to determine the real ratio of the Soviet and German forces as well as their actual losses during the operation. As well as some good decisions, command on both sides made some crucial mistakes as well as main tactical errors all of which are studied in this book to produce a fully rounded view of the campaign and highlights a connection to Operation Overlord by proving that it was only due to the landing at Normandy that the Soviet forces were able to destroy the German Army Group Centre while the elite mobile forces were concentrated in France.
£21.25
Schiffer ShÅkakuClass Aircraft Carriers
Book SynopsisThe first book on the powerful Japanese Shōkaku-class carriers.
£20.69
Schiffer Publishing Ltd Boeing YC14
Book SynopsisThe Boeing YC-14 was prototype aircraft intended to replace the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The aircraft never entered full production, and just two prototypes were built. Author John Wimpress was a member of the YC-14 design team, providing him intimate knowledge of this rare aircraft.
£19.54
Princeton University Press The New Makers of Modern Strategy
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Project Syndicate Best Reads in 2023""[Brands] gathers a college of 45 such experts. All are wise after the facts of their field, and each attempts the historian’s equivalent of the owl’s neck rotation—a sweep that, taking in past and present, looks to the future . . . the scholarship on strategy has become internationalized, and Mr. Brands broadens his sights beyond the familiar theorists and practitioners—and beyond the battlefield."---Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal
£32.30
The History Press Ltd An Illustrated History of the Avro Lancaster
Book SynopsisA photo-history of this pivotal and iconic World War Two bomber
£16.99
Atlantic Books A Brutal Reckoning: The Creek Indians and the
Book Synopsis'Cozzens is a master storyteller' The Times'Extremely well researched' Times Literary SupplementFrom the devastating invasion by Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century to the relentless pressure from white settlers 150 years later, A Brutal Reckoning tells the story of encroachment on the vast Native American territory in the Deep South, which gave rise to the Creek War, the bloodiest in American Indian history, and propelled Andrew Jackson into national prominence, as he led the US Army in a ruthless campaign.It was a war that involved not only white Americans and Native Americans but also the British and the Spanish, and ultimately led to the Trail of Tears, in which the government forcibly removed the entire Creek people, as well as the neighbouring Chickasaw, Choctaw and Cherokee nations, from their homelands, leaving the way open for the conquest of the West. No other single Indian conflict had such a significant impact on the fate of the country.Wonderfully told and brilliantly detailed, A Brutal Reckoning is a sweeping history of a crucial period in the destruction of America's native tribes.Trade ReviewCozzens recounts this tale with his customary equanimity, never attempting to embroider that which is already horrifying... Sadly, this is a book that many Americans won't want to read. It will probably be banned from some schools. Cozzens nevertheless deserves praise for having the courage, in today's climate, to write it. * The Times *A penetrating and fast-paced account...The story of the Creek War is a sorry one, but Cozzens recounts it both with fairness and with a richness of color and detail... Cozzens writes with sensitivity about the political and cultural vise in which the Creeks were crushed. * Wall Street Journal *As has come to be expected from Cozzens's work, A Brutal Reckoning masterfully blends important cultural and biographical details with expressive and engaging military history. * Washington Post *Cozzens' storytelling works well... An engaging, highly readable narrative. * New York Journal of Books *Cozzens vividly describes the Creek Indians' advanced society and clashes with other tribes, giving a grand sense of their civilization... Equally well brought to life, Cozzens' dramatic, often gory descriptions of armed conflicts among the Creeks and white settlers put flesh to myth-encased events. * Booklist (starred review) *A seasoned historical storyteller, Cozzens portrays both Jackson and his Creek adversaries without minimizing their flaws, though he is clearly appalled by Jackson's later treatment of the Indians during the Trail of Tears... An authoritative account of a disturbing chapter in the relations between the U.S. military and Indigenous peoples. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *An engrossing and important book that pays homage to the complex history and heritage of the Muscogee people. Highly recommended. * Library Journal (starred review) *A gut-wrenching account of a tragic chapter in American history. * Publishers Weekly *Extremely well researched... taking from an array of secondary material... and quoting extensively from contemporary letters, war reports, treaty negotiations, trading statistics and the like. * TLS *Table of Contents1: From the Ashes of the Entrada 2: A Rope of Sand 3: Between Three Fires 4: The Sweets of Civilization 5: The Hungry Years 6: Rise of the Red Sticks 7: Civil War 8: Stark Mad 9: Terror in the Tensaw 10: The Emergence of Old Hickory 11: Invasion of the Tennesseans 12: The Red Sticks Resilient 13: All We Lack Is Powder and Lead 14: Tennesseans to the Rear 15: Jackson Courts Disaster 16: A Slow, Laborious Slaughter 17: An Elusive Peace 18: Betrayal at Fort Jackson 19: A Scalp for a Scalp 20: Shades of Genocide
£21.25
Schiffer Publishing Ltd CH47 Chinook
Book SynopsisAn illustrated guide to one of the most important US military helicopters
£20.69
Bonnier Books Ltd The Dance Teacher of Paris
Book SynopsisOne brave woman will risk her life to save innocent Jewish children in occupied Paris. Paris, 1942. During the dark days of Nazi occupation, Adele Basset continues to teach in her dance studio, providing a beacon of light and hope amongst so much terror and suffering.When the Germans demand the names of her Jewish students, Adele realises they are in terrible danger. Only she can save them. Hiding her Jewish pupils in the school attic, Adele puts her life on the line to keep them safe.As the war rages, keeping her secret becomes more and more dangerous. Adele starts to question who she can trust and just how far she will need to go to protect the innocent children in her care.She must find a way for them to escape, if they have a chance of making it out of Paris alive... An absolutely heart-breaking and unforgettable novel about the strength of the human spirit and the courage of ordinary people in the d
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Panzer III vs T34
Book SynopsisThis illustrated study pits Germany's PzKpfw III against the Soviet Union's T-34 in the wake of Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.This book evaluates the PzKpfw III and T-34 medium tanks fielded by Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941. Both designs were intended to be the primary medium tanks of their respective armies, but owing to manufacturing difficulties, neither was available in quite the numbers intended. Even though both tanks were relatively new, neither was deemed entirely satisfactory, and replacements for both were already on the drawing board. Nevertheless, it was these tanks that clashed in what the Soviet Union called the Great Patriotic War.While the T-34 rapidly established a fearsome reputation only sometimes borne out by its actual performance, the PzKpfw lII was smaller, lighter, and not as well armed as its Soviet opponent but benefited from the support of a more seasoned and better structured army. Full-colour artwork, archiv
£14.39
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Secret Agent Unsung Hero
Book SynopsisYoung Australian teacher Bruce Dowding arrived in Paris in 1938, planning only to improve his understanding of French language and culture. Secret Agent, Unsung Hero draws on decades of research to reveal, for the first time, his coming of age as a leader in escape and evasion during World War II. Dowding helped exfiltrate hundreds of Allied servicemen from occupied France and paid the ultimate price. He was beheaded by the Nazis just after his 29th birthday in 1943.
£21.25
Tuttle Publishing Secret Tactics
Book SynopsisSecret Tactics offers ancient wisdom for contemporary readerswith new interpretations of Japanese martial arts classics In the tradition of Musashi, Kazumi Tabata, one of America's most experienced teachers of karate, distills invaluable lessons drawn from the most influential martial arts texts in Japanese history. This book includes fascinating essays on leadership, correct behavior, character, values and strategic thinking. The Hereditary Manual of Fighting Techniques by Yagyu Tajimanokami Munenori explores the relationship between Zen philosophy and warfare and the mental preparation needed for winning. The Ultimate Sword by Takuan Soho describes the unremitting effort needed to become a true master of martial strategy. The same author uses key aspects of sword-fighting tactics to shed light on the path to self-realization in The Miracle of Immovable Wisdom.The Technical Study of Kenpo by Kotoda Yahei Toshisada emphasizes the importance of training and learning practical techni
£8.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd R Patrol Long Range Desert Group
Book SynopsisThis is the story of the New Zealand R Patrol, Long Range Desert Group, who within their ranks had some very distinguished icons such as Jake Easonsmith, Don Steele, Dick Croucher Tony Browne, Bluey Grimsey, and Buster Gibb. Their stories are told, including that of many others, mostly in the words of the participants themselves by way of wartime operational reports, diaries, personal letters, and post war interviews. This provides a human touch to the narrative, examining the thoughts and observations of those who served. The work also explains the formation of the unit, including its early missions and of the vehicles, supplies, weapons, and equipment used. In addition, serving as a Taxi Service' for behind the line missions carrying agents, commandos, military observers, rescuing downed airmen and escaped PoWs. Chapters are also devoted to working with the SAS and Free French, supporting the Eighth Army, and undertaking the Road Watch. This includes dramatic accounts of air attack
£23.75
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Eighth Army Soldier vs Italian Soldier
Book SynopsisFully illustrated, this absorbing study assesses the Commonwealth and Italian infantrymen pitted against one another during the First and Second battles of El Alamein in 1942. By July 1942, the Allied troops fighting in North Africa, the multinational Eighth Army, had withdrawn to the El Alamein line, the last position stopping their German and Italian opponents from reaching the Suez Canal. Featuring full-colour artwork, carefully chosen archive photographs and incisive analysis, this book casts light on the Commonwealth and Italian infantrymen who participated in the seesaw battle for control of the North African coastline as it entered its decisive phase, played out over two bloody engagements during JulyOctober 1942. Although Allied and Axis commanders saw armour as the decisive weapon in the Desert War, the infantry fielded by both sides would be key to the outcomes of the two El Alamein battles. While the majority of the 96,000 Axis troops at the first b
£14.39
Penguin Books Ltd Endgame 1944
Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ''This book is his best yet . . . Dimbleby's work is in a different league, told with such skill and judgment'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesA gripping and authoritative account of the year that sealed the fate of the Nazis, from the bestselling historianJune 1944: In Operation Bagration, more than two million Red Army soldiers, facing 500,000 German soldiers, finally avenged their defeat in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. The same month saw the Allies triumph on the beaches of Normandy, but, despite the myths that remain, it was the events on the Eastern Front that sealed Hitler''s fate and destroyed Nazism.In his new book, bestselling historian Jonathan Dimbleby describes and analyses this momentous year, covering the military, political and diplomatic story in his evocative style. Drawing on previously untranslated German, Russian and Polish sources, we see how sophisticated new forms of deception and ruthless Partisan warfare shifted the Soviets' fortunes, how their triumphs effectively gave Stalin authority to occupy Eastern Europe and how it was the events of 1944 that enabled Stalin to dictate the terms of the post-war settlement, laying the foundations for the Cold War . . .''Mr. Dimbleby is a sure-footed guide to the labyrinthine military operations along a front line that extended nearly 2,000 miles, from the Baltic to the Black Sea'' Wall Street Journal''Terrific . . . a tour de force'' Sir Richard Evans''Military history at its very best'' Keith LoweSunday Time Bestseller, June 2024
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Philippines Naval Campaign 194445
Book SynopsisThe forgotten story of the major naval operations conducted in the Philippines by the US and Japanese navies after Leyte Gulf up to the US invasion of Luzon in January 1945. The events that took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 are often overlooked by military historians. An impressive array of naval operations continued in the Philippines up to January 1945, which included (on the Japanese side) the largest convoys to a contested island during the war, the first kamikaze campaign, and the second largest Imperial Japanese Navy surface operation during the last nine months of the conflict. On the American side, US forces were involved in efforts to cut off Leyte from enemy reinforcement, a massive amphibious invasion off Luzon, and large-scale operations by the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38).Expert naval historian Mark Stille throws new light on this often forgotten phase of the Pacific naval war. Among the actions covered areTable of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING COMMANDERS United States Navy Imperial Japanese Navy JAPANESE COMMANDERS AND FORCES United States Navy Imperial Japanese Navy Orders of Battle OPPOSING PLANS United States Japanese THE CAMPAIGN TF 38 operations, October–November 25, 1944 The Japanese TA Operation The battles for Ormoc Bay The landing at Ormoc November 1944 TF 38 operations The invasion of Mindoro The San Jose Intrusion Force TF 38 operations, December 10, 1944–January 10, 1945 The invasion of Luzon Halsey’s rampage AFTERMATH AND ANALYSIS Analysis BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
£15.29
Yale University Press The Origins of Victory
Book SynopsisHow the character of war is changing and how militaries can successfully adapt to meet the challengeTrade Review“Krepinevich’s thoughts on the changing face of war should be read by serious strategic thinkers. He makes a compelling case as to how and why America’s military, and those of its key allies, must pursue ‘disruptive innovation’ to address the growing threat from China and Russia.”—Nobukatsu Kanehara, Former Deputy National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan“In this analytic tour de force Krepinevich delivers a graduate degree in military adaptation. Historically grounded and forward looking, his analysis validates urgently needed guideposts ensuring what we do today can confound the security threats of tomorrow.”—General Jim Mattis, U.S. Marines (retired) and 26th Secretary of Defense“Krepinevich, one of this country’s most thoughtful and creative strategists, has spent a distinguished career studying military revolutions. His latest work draws on decades of research and reflection and is essential and compelling reading for scholars, policy makers, and military officers alike.”—Aaron L. Friedberg, Princeton University“Andrew Krepinevich provides a stark warning of what failures await the US military if we do not change course with a sense of urgency. An essential read for those entrusted with keeping our nation safe.”—Congressman Mike Gallagher
£31.50
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Blitz 194041
Book SynopsisAn illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended ''the Blitz'' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain''s defences and civilians responded.The Blitz - the German ''blitzkrieg'' of Britain''s industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain''s military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war.Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of ''life under the bombs'' or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe''s biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION CHRONOLOGY ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES Luftwaffe order of battle, 7 September, 1941 Doctrine The aircraft Equipment and tactics DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES RAF order of battle, 7 September, 1941 Civil defence The aircraft Commanders CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES THE CAMPAIGN The Blitz begins, 7 September-13 October The night assault The conflict over future strategy The London Blitz renewed Fighter defence The campaign on the Midlands and Southern ports Regenschirm: The Birmingham Blitz 'Crucible': Sheffield The Manchester Blitz The Southampton Blitz London campaign renewed The Anti-Aircraft Contribution Bromide, Domino and Starfish The Battle of the ports The Swansea and Cardiff Blitzes The Clydebank Blitz- Problems over Bristol Hull, Plymouth-Devonport London The Anti-shipping campaign AFTERMATH AND ANALYSIS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
£15.29
Casemate Publishers The WaffenSS at Kharkov
Book SynopsisAt the beginning of 1943, the German armed forces were in crisis on the southern front in Russia. The Soviets had launched a series of offensives from November 1942 that pushed the Germans back hundreds of kilometers. The Germans had no more significant reserves available, and enormous breaches had opened between defensive lines. In early January 1943, the Soviets attacked again, with the aim of reconquering the industrial city of Kharkov and destroying the remaining German and Axis troops in southern Ukraine, including the 4. Panzerarmee, 1. Panzerarmee, Armeeabteilung Hollidt and Armeeabteilung Fretter-Pico.After the encirclement of 6. Armee at Stalingrad and the destruction of the Axis forces there, the loss of these four armies would certainly have led to German defeat on the Eastern Front. Believing victory was near, Stalin and his generals decided to launch their new offensives even before the garrison of Stalingrad surrendered. The main effort fell on Army Group Don, newly formed and with little forces available. Facing a massive offensive, Commander Erich von Manstein was ordered to hold the city at any cost, risking the destruction of two divisions of the Waffen-SS and the Grossdeutschland army division. SS Panzer Corps commander Paul Hausser disobeyed Hitler's order and ordered the retreat from Kharkov, saving the two SS divisions. This meant that Manstein had at his disposal forces needed to launch his counteroffensive.The subsequent battles for Kharkov saw the three divisions of the Waffen-SSLeibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Das Reich and Totenkopf fighting together for the first time. In the first phase of the offensive, the SS Das Reich and Totenkopf marched 100 kilometers south of Kharkov, blocking the Soviet army from capturing the bridges over the Dnieper River, while the Leibstandarte successfully defended the corps supply base in Krasnograd. After protecting the bridges over the Dnepr, the Das Reich and Totenkopf units headed north and regained control of the vital railway network south of Kharkov. The Soviet 3rd Tank Army was forced to abandon its attack against Krasnograd to regroup south of Kharkov and protect the city from Hausser's divisions. At that point the Leibstandarte joined the other divisions of the corps SS to eliminate Soviet forces and recapture Kharkov. With its reconquest, Southern Ukraine returned firmly under German control.This is a fully illustrated account of the decisive victory attained by the SS Panzer Corps divisions at a time of serious crisis for the Axis forces.
£21.21
Penguin Books Ltd France on Trial
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewJulian Jackson brings to life here with his customary mastery the trial in 1945 of France's highest ranking military officer, accused of having betrayed his country. Philippe Pétain knew extremes of glory and shame in his long military career. In 1919, as the supreme commander of French armies in World War I, he rode down the Champs-Elysées at the head of a victory parade. After June 1940, with almost unlimited power and prestige, he governed France under German occupation. In 1945 he sat in a French courtroom charged with treason for his exercise of that power. In this compelling book, Julian Jackson gives the reader a seat in the jury box and then follows France's debate over Petain - hero or traitor? - over the next fifty years. -- Robert Paxton, Mellon Professor Emeritus of Social Science, Columbia UniversityThe great general of the First World War, collaborator with Germany in the Second, how is Marshal Philippe Pétain to be remembered? His trial on charges of treason divided the French in 1945 and has divided them ever since. In the hands of Julian Jackson, a superb historian with the sensibility of a novelist, this is a story not just about Pétain but about war and resistance, the moral compromises of leadership and the meaning of France itself. -- Margaret MacMillan, Emeritus Professor of International History, University of OxfordA superb book ... Jackson is that rare beast: a distinguished academic historian who writes with flair and clarity... one could almost be buried in a work of high-class fiction... 5/5 stars * Sunday Telegraph *If... cowardice, bad faith, dishonour and moral ambivalence is your thing, read on... A highly talented storyteller, Jackson certainly knows how to set the scene... What is chilling in Jackson's beautifully researched and meticulous account of the trial is the hopeless mediocrity of almost all people involved in it: from judges and jurors (résistants and parliamentarians) to lawyers prosecutors and witnesses. * Observer *Julian Jackson, the foremost historian of the period, here provides a magisterial account of this extraordinary yet also somehow squalid courtroom drama and its context. ... [A] fine, thought-provoking book. * Sunday Times *A splendid book ... The central narrative of the trial grips like a thriller ... Jackson's vivid prose is leavened by wit and sharpened by telling details ... This is a substantial achievement by a historian at the top of his game. * Literary Review *In France on Trial, his masterful account of the case, the historian Julian Jackson explains that it was not just Pétain who was being called to account, but the whole of France. * Financial Times *Painstakingly researched ... Jackson vividly reconstructs the drama. * Economist *An enthralling book ... The past is dangerous, you see. Real, hard history of this kind can reach out of the page and stick its thumb in your eye. Who needs fiction when the truth is as gripping as this? 5/5 stars. * Mail on Sunday *An essential key to understanding the country's recent past. * Spectator *A scrupulous and vivid reconstruction of the trial * Times Literary Supplement *'It is a sound approach to cover such a big canvas, one that springs to life thanks to Jackson's command of sources and exquisite use of anecdotes. ... There is a cinematic quality to the way Jackson brings us into the packed courtroom ... Listening to the testimonies, we too wrestle with terrible dilemmas' * The Critic *Professor Jackson's clear exposition of a criminal trial in the context of modern French history is an excellent illustration of a certain class of case with serious political consequences, beyond those of the accused. * Irish Legal News *I have nothing but praise for the way Jackson tells the story, with a clear elucidation of the swirling political passions, and vivid portraits of the heroes and villains, and those in between. * Tablet *Julian Jackson's France on Trial is one of those instant classic history books that are immediately recognisable as a masterpiece of scholarship. Although ostensibly about Marshal Petain's trial in the aftermath of the Second World War, Jackson weaves in all the main issues regarding French resistance versus collaboration, and the profound chiaroscuro between the extremes. I read it in Lyon, where the superb Resistance Museum records in powerful detail the crimes of Klaus Barbie and others, and it proved the perfect intellectual backdrop for the trip.Brilliantly researched and vividly narrated ... Jackson manages to engage the reader, adopting a rich literary style to communicate ... the atmosphere in and outside of the court and the personality of the characters ... Riveting. * Jewish Chronicle *[An] outstanding book ... Jackson's vivid, stylish, sometimes even cinematic reconstruction suggests this court case was about far more than one elderly man ... Jackson skilfully evokes the trial scene's atmosphere... [a] gripping and timely book. * Business Post *Highly detailed ... an impressive command of the nuances of this trial ... authoritative. -- John Reeves * LA Review of Books *This account of Philippe Petain’s 1945 trial for treason is a superb achievement, both reconstructing France’s Vichy shame and thoughtfully analysing its aftermath. * Daily Telegraph, Top 50 Books of 2023 *Perhaps the history book of the year. Jackson understands France like few others: he looks in vivid fashion at the trial of the arch-collaborator, and how the actions of a man who had embodied France’s heroism in the Great War became, 20 years later, the symbol of its shame … he subtly argues that the whole French nation, and not just its disgraced leader, was on trial. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year *France on Trial stands out – a meticulously researched, attractively written account of the trial of the first world war hero turned Nazi collaborator Marshal Petain and its woeful Vichy background. Excellent on Petain’s legacy in modern right-wing French politics, Jackson adopts the requisite tone for a historian of our times, interrogating uncomfortable truths with objectivity mixed with lightness of touch. -- Andrew Lycett * Spectator, Books of the Year *This extraordinary book exposes how various sides in the Petain debate have manipulated the historical record in a desperate attempt to make the past palatable. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times, Books of the Year *Julian Jackson’s France on Trial grapples with the life and (mis)deeds of Philippe Pétain—the French general who led the Vichy regime during the Second World War—and the country’s dark feelings of hatred and guilt after the war. * Prospect Books of the Year *
£23.75
McGill-Queen's University Press Kingdom of Barracks
Book SynopsisKingdom of Barracks depicts the texture of everyday life in refugee camps in postwar Europe. Taking a bottom-up perspective, Katarzyna Nowak examines the experiences of Polish Displaced Persons in the shadow of the mounting Cold War and explores the formation of cultural identity in exile through the lenses of class, gender, body, and nationality.Trade Review“Throughout the fresh retelling of life in the barracks and the complex efforts of the DPs to find their way in the postwar order, Katarzyna Nowak gives agency and individuality back to the refugees. Everyday life here is neither idealized as consistently committed to a national agenda nor generalized as a mere set of responses to the rigid rules of camp officials. Rather, Nowak brings out the petty crime, the love affairs, the desperate efforts to keep families together, and the myriad ways DPs sought to game the system of impersonal bureaucracy. She breathes new life into the stories of a whole generation of survivors, who were compelled to live in extended postwar deprivation for many years past the end of formal hostilities in Europe. As a result, Kingdom of Barracks makes a tremendous contribution to our understanding of Cold War refugeedom, the evolution of the Polish diaspora, and changes to the cultural makeup of Polishness abroad.” Keely Stauter-Halsted, University of Illinois Chicago and author of The Nation in the Village: The Genesis of Peasant National Identity in Austrian Poland, 1848–1914“Nowak’s well-written and well-re‐ searched cultural and social history of Polish dis‐ placed persons in the aftermath of the Second World War... is an exemplary addition to the canon of postwar historical literature. Her ability to weave individual destinies in and out of international political processes allows the author to keep displaced per‐ sons’ interests at the forefront of their own history while continuously giving them a voice in defining their own lives – and histories. Nowak’s Kingdom of Barracks is, therefore, a formidable addition to a growing body of literature that focuses on some of the traditionally forgotten victims of Nazism, a deficit of literature that historical academia has only begun to address in recent years." H-Poland
£79.00
Dorling Kindersley Ltd The Tank Book
Book Synopsis
£24.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Battle for the Bocage, Normandy 1944: Point 103,
Book SynopsisThis is the story of the fighting in Normandy by the veteran desert formations brought back by Montgomery from the Mediterranean in order to spearhead the invasion; 50th Infantry and 7th Armoured divisions, plus 4th Armoured Brigade. Heavily reinforced by individuals and fresh units, their task beyond the beaches was to push south to Villers Bocage with armour on the evening of D Day in order to disrupt German counter-attacks on the beachhead. Difficulties on 50th Division’s beaches and lost opportunities allowed time for the 12th Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division and the equally elite 130th Panzer Lehr Division to arrive in Normandy, despite delays of their own caused by allied fighter bombers. The result was 4th Armoured Brigade’s thrust south encountered opposition from the start and was firmly blocked just south of Point 103 after an advance of less than 5 miles. A major counter-attack by Panzer Lehr failed, as did a renewed British attempt, this time by the vaunted 7th Armoured Division, which was halted at Tilly sur Seulles. From here the fighting became a progressively attritional struggle in the hedgerows of the Bocage country south of Bayeux. More and more units were drawn into the fighting, which steadily extended west. Finally, an opportunity, via the Caumont Gap, to outflank the German defences was taken and 7th Armoured Division reached Villers Bocage. Here the County of London Yeomanry encountered the newly arrived Tigers of Michael Wittmann, with disastrous results. The Desert Rats were forced to withdraw having lost much of their reputation. There then followed what the battalions of 50th Division describe as their ‘most unpleasant period of the war’, in bitter fighting, at often very close quarters, for the ‘next hedgerow’.
£24.62
Cornerstone Great-Uncle Harry: A Tale of War and Empire
Book SynopsisFrom the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, who died in tragic circumstances, he was determined to find out more about him.The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him.Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest.___________________________________________PRAISE FOR EREBUS:'Beyond terrific. I didn't want it to end.' BILL BRYSON'Magisterial . . . Palin brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people.' THE TIMES'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' CHRIS EVANS'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' LORRAINE KELLYTrade ReviewPalin has packed in an astonishing amount of detective work here, digging through work records, photographs and different people’s diaries. Harry might have been what his great nephew calls “a very small fish in a very big war”, but with this book he has finally been given a voice. An important historical record and a well-paced story in its own right, Great-Uncle Harry is also much more than that: a tremendous act of love. * Guardian *
£16.14
Imperial War Museum Make Do and Mend: Wartime Tips to Mend Your
Book SynopsisA delightful reminder of the techniques for household economies extolled by the wartime government. First published in 1943, all of the tips can be used to spruce up your wardrobe today. Old fashioned remedies for everything from washing silks and mending your clothes, to repelling the moth menace'!
£6.99
Pan Macmillan Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the
Book Synopsis'Every so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well.' – James Holland, The Sunday Telegraph'A work of singular importance . . . balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting' – Philippe Sands, author of East-West Street'Always engrossing . . . a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history' – History TodayA landmark, magisterial history of the postwar trial of Japan’s leaders as war criminals, and their impact on the modern history of Asia and the world.In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the victorious powers turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For the Allied powers, the trials were an opportunity both to render judgment on their vanquished foes and to create a legal framework to prosecute war crimes and prohibit the use of aggressive war. For the Japanese leaders on trial, it was their chance to argue that their war had been waged to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and that the court was no more than victors’ justice.Gary J. Bass' Judgement at Tokyo is a magnificent, riveting story of wartime action, dramatic courtroom battles, and the epic formative years that set the stage for the postwar era in the Asia–Pacific.'A comprehensive, landmark and riveting book' – The Washington Post, 'The 10 Best Books of 2023'Trade ReviewThis important book . . . Magisterial' -- Max Hastings, The Sunday TimesEvery so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well. -- James Holland, The Sunday TelegraphA work of singular importance – balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting. It is of huge relevance to our times. -- Philippe Sands, author of East-West StreetMagisterial . . . A well-crafted, warts-and-all account from which almost no one emerges unscathed. * Financial Times *A meticulously researched and authoritative account -- The Economist, 'The Best Books of 2023'Bass has written a massively long and detailed book, always lively and judgmental. He brings out not only the legal arguments, but the colour of the great tribunal itself. * The Observer *This magisterial account – long but never sprawling; thick with detail yet always engrossing . . . This is a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history. -- Christopher Harding, History TodayFascinating -- The New Yorker, 'Best Books of 2023'Comprehensive, landmark and riveting. . . . Bass employs the complexities of the trial as a fulcrum to sketch a wide canvas. . . . Fascinating * The Washington Post, 'The 10 Best Books of 2023' *Immersive -- The New York Times, 'Notable Books of 2023'Magnificent . . . Vivid . . . Profound * Foreign Affairs *Magisterial . . . Bass is a marvelous writer. * Air Mail *In this superb work of transnational history, Gary Bass uses the Tokyo trial to illuminate the making of the modern world. -- Ramachandra Guha, author of India After GandhiTo understand the dynamics of post-World War II Asia, Gary Bass’s Judgement at Tokyo is fascinating, essential reading. -- Barbara Demick, Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North KoreaGary Bass has written nothing less than a masterpiece. With epic research and mesmerizing narrative power, Judgement at Tokyo has the makings of an instant classic. -- Evan Osnos, US National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New ChinaA vivid and meticulously crafted account, rich in detail, fair-minded, superbly nuanced. -- Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s VietnamDestined to become a classic, Judgement at Tokyo is meticulously researched and elegantly written: it is also a necessary book. -- Anna Sherman, author of The Bells of Old Tokyo
£25.50
Amber Books Ltd World War II Illustrated Atlas
Book SynopsisWorld War II was the greatest conflict in the history of mankind. It penetrated into every corner of the globe, from the Arctic to the Pacific Oceans. Immense armed forces engaged one another in battle in every type of environment, from the desert sands of North Africa to the jungles of Burma and New Guinea. The Allied and Axis forces met in brutal encounters ranging from small commando raids to gigantic armoured battles. World War II Illustrated Atlas is a comprehensive visual guide to this complex conflict. It plots the exact course of the land, sea and air campaigns in fine detail, enabling the reader to trace the ebb and flow of the fortunes of both sides. With the aid of over 160 full-colour maps, every theatre of war is covered. Contents include the land campaigns in North-west Europe, Italy, North Africa, Russia, South-East Asia and the Pacific; the naval war in the Atlantic and Mediterranean; the great carrier battles of the Pacific war; and the strategic bombing campaigns of Europe and the Pacific, culminating in the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This new edition provides another 25 maps showing the key raids and battles of the war, ranging from the St Nazaire raid in 1942 to the battle for Corregidor in February 1945. The isometric map views give a new perspective on the war, and are accompanied by detailed descriptions of the battles and raids along with photographs from the event. This complete atlas provides an invaluable work of reference for both the general reader and the serious student of World War II.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Build Up To War 1. Europe 1914–18 2. Europe after the Peace Treaties 1920-21 3. The Depression in Europe 4. Fascist States in Europe 5. European Political Agreements 1934–35 I 6. European Political Agreements 1936–37 II 7. European Political Agreements 1938–39 III 8. Revolution and Invasion in China to 1912-35 9. Expansion of Japan 1920–41 10. Hitler’s Annexations 1936–39 September 1939: The Blitzkrieg 11. Invasion of Poland 1-28 September 1939 12. The Winter War November 1939-March 1940 The Phoney War: German and Allied Plans - September 1939 to April 1940 13. Battle of Suomussalmi - 11 December 1939 to 8 January 1940 14. Denmark and Norway - April to June 1940 15. Invasion of the West – May to June 1940 16. Panzer strike through the Ardennes – 12 to 14 May 1940 17. Dunkirk Operation ‘Dynamo’ – 27 May to 4 June 1940 18. Fall of France and Vichy – June 1940 19. The Battle of Britain – July to September 1940 20. The Blitz – September 1940 to May 1941 The Air War 21. The Bombing of Europe 1939–41 22. The Thousand Bomber Raid 30/31 May 1943 23. Strategic Bombing 1943 24. Dambusters Raid 16/17 May 1943 25. Schweinfurt Bombing Results The Sea War 26. Battle of the Atlantic I – September 1939 to May 1940 27. Battle of the Atlantic II – June 1940 to March 1941 28. Battle of the Atlantic III – April to December 1941 29. Battle of the Atlantic IV – January 1942 to February 1943 30. Battle of the Atlantic V – May to September 1943 North Africa and Italy 31. Campaign in East Africa - June 1940 to November 1941 32. Iraq, Syria and Persia – April to September 1941 33. North Africa: Operation Compass – 9 December 1940 to February 1941 34. North Africa: Operation Sonnenblume – April 1941 35. North Africa: Operation Crusader – November to December 1941 36. Operation Crusader: Battle of Sidi Rezegh - 18 November to 7 December 1941 37. Rommel Returns 38. Gazala and the Fall of Tobruk – May to June 1942 39. The Eve of Battle (El Alamein) – 23 October 1942 40. El Alamein Operation Lightfoot – 24 to 29 October 1942 41. El Alamein, Operation Supercharge – 2 to 4 November 1942 42. The Mediterranean Naval Operations – Late 1942 43. Battle of Matapan – 28 to 29 March 1941 44. Taranto Attack – 11 November 1940 45. Operation Pedestal – 11 to 13 August 1942 46. Operation Torch – 8 November 1942 47. British Advance to Tunisia – November 1942 to February 1943 48. Kasserine Pass – 14 to 22 February 1943 49. Axis Defeat in Tunisia – 20 to 29 March 1943 50. Capture of Tunis – April to May 1943 51. Invasion of Sicily - 10 July to 17 August 1943 52. Southern Italy – 3 September to 15 December 1943 53. Landings at Salerno – 9 to 16 September 1943 54. Southern Italy Operational Plans – 1942 to 43 55. Monte Cassino 56. Landings at Anzio – 17 January to 26 May 1944 The Liberation of Rome and Advance North – June to December 1944 57. The End in Italy – April to May 1945 The Eastern Front 58. The Balkan Campaign – 6 to 20 April 1941 59. The Conquest of Greece and Crete – 6 to 28 April 1941 60. Operation Barbarossa I – 22 June to early October 1941 61. Operation Typhoon – September to December 1941 62. Battle for Moscow – January to June 1942 63. The Caucasus – June to November 1942 64. The Siege of Sevastopol 65. The Siege of Leningrad – September 1941 to January 1944 66. Dispersion of Soviet Industry 67. The Battle for Stalingrad – September 1942 to February 1943 68. Battle of Kharkov - 29 January to 20 February 1943 69. Eastern Front - March 1943 70. Battle of Kharkov – 2 to 23 March 1943 71. Eastern Front – July 1943 72. Kursk ‘Operation Zitadelle’ – 5 to 13 July 1943 73. Battle of Prokhovovka – 12 July 1943 74. Soviet Advance to Dnieper – 5 July to 1 December 1943 75. Liberating the Ukraine and the Crimea – January to May 1944 76. Leningrad and the Kerelian Front – January to October 1944 77. Karelian Front – September to October 1944 78. Yugoslavia – 1941 and 1942 79. Yugoslavia 1943 80. Operation Bagration – June to July 1944 81. The Warsaw Rising – 1 August to 2 October 1944 82. Soviet Advance into Poland – July 1944 83. Soviet Advance into Romania and Hungary – 8 August to 15 December 1944 84. The Balkans – November to December 1944 85. The Liberation of Greece – October to November 1944 86. The Advance to Koenigsberg – October 1944 to April 1945 87. Battle for Koenigsberg 88. Battle of Budapest and Vienna – December 1944 to May 1945 89. The Advance to the Oder – January to February 1945 90. The Battle for Berlin – 15 April to 6 May 1945 91. The Battle for Berlin - 26 April to 2 May 1945 The Western Front 92. Global Strategy – 1941 to 1945 93. COSSAC Plan – August 1943 94. Allied D-Day Landing Plan and Objectives – 6 June 1944 95. Breakout Plan – 22 July to 6 August 96. Falaise Pocket – 6 to 19 August 1944 97. The Liberation of Paris – 14 to 25 August 1944 98. Invasion of Southern France – August 1944 99. Allied Advance to September 1944 100. The Air Lift – 17 September 1944 101. Airborne Drop Zones – September 1944 102. First Airborne Division landing zones – September 1944 103. Battle of the Bulge – 16 to 24 December 1944 104. Battle of the Bulge counterattack – 26 December 1944 to 7 February 1945 105. Advance to the Rhine – 8 February to 21 March 1945 106. Crossing the Rhine – March 1945 The War in the Pacific 107. Hawaii Operation, track of Japanese attack force - 26 November to 7 December 108. Pearl Harbor: The Japanese Attack - 7 December 1941 109. Japanese Expansion - December 1941 to July 1942 110. Invasion of Malaya - 8 December1941 to 31 January 1942 111. Capture of Singapore – 8 to 15 February 1942 112. Indian Ocean March – March to April 1942 113. Japanese Invasion of Burma – January to May 1942 114. Japanese Invasion of Philippines – 8 December 1941 to June 1942 115. Bataan and Corregidor 116. Manila and Bataan 117. Japanese Invasion of the Dutch East Indies – January to March 1942 118. Battle of Midway – 4 to 5 June 1942 119. Admiral Yamamoto’s plans to seize Midway – May to June 1942 120. Battle of the Coral Sea – 28 April to 11 May 1942 121. Battle of Midway I – 4 June 1942 04:00 to 10:30 122. Battle of Midway II – 4 June 1942 10:30 to 6 June 00:00 123. US Landings and the Battle of Savo Island – August 1942 124. US Landings 125. Guadalcanal 126. The Solomon Islands – 12 to 13 November 1942 127. Guadalcanal – 13 November 1942 128. Guadalcanal – 14 to 15 November 1942 129. Operation Cartwheel – March 1942 to November 1943 130. New Guinea – August to September 1943 131. The Aleutians – June 1942 to May 1943 132. Chindits in Burma – February to March 1943 133. Pacific situation to October 1944 134. Carrier Raids in the Central Pacific to October 1944 135. Tarawa Atoll – 20 to 23 November 1943 136. Makin Atoll – 20 to 23 November 1943 137. Japanese merchant shipping routes - 1941 to 1945 138. Japanese merchant shipping losses – 7 Dec 1941 to 31 Dec 1942 139. Japanese merchant shipping losses 1943 140. Japanese merchant shipping losses 1944 141. Japanese merchant shipping losses 1945 142. Battle of the Philippine Sea I – 19 June 1944 143. Battle of the Philippine Sea II – 20 to 21 June 1944 144. War in China – July 1937 to December 1944 145. Second Arakan Campaign – December 1943 to April 1944 146. Japanese Invasion of India – March to June 1944 147. Allied Recapture of Burma – December 1944 to February 1945 148. The Saipan Landings – 15 June to 9 July 1944 149. Guam – 21 July to 10 August 1944 150. Tinian – 24 July to 1 August 1944 151. Pacific situation up to August 1945 152. The Battle of the Philippines – 20 to 27 October 1944 153. Liberation of the Philippines – January to August 1945 154. Allied Recapture of Burma – December 1944 to 5 May 1945 155. Landings on Iwo Jima – 19 February to 26 March 1945 156. The Fall of Okinawa – 1 April to 21 June 1945 157. The Japanese Empire – August 1945 158. Bombing of Japan – June 1944 to August 1945 159. Soviet Invasion of Manchuria – September 1945 160. Operations Against Japan – February to August 1945 161. Allied Invasion Plan – August 1945 version 162. Nagasaki – 9 August 1945 The Aftermath 163. Mobilization for War – 1939 to 1945 164. Original Members of the United Nations 1945 165. The Casualties of War – 1939 to 1945
£22.49
Pan Macmillan Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the
Book Synopsis'Every so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well.' – James Holland, The Sunday Telegraph'A work of singular importance . . . balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting' – Philippe Sands, author of East-West Street'Always engrossing . . . a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history' – History TodayA landmark, magisterial history of the postwar trial of Japan’s leaders as war criminals, and their impact on the modern history of Asia and the world.In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the victorious powers turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For the Allied powers, the trials were an opportunity both to render judgment on their vanquished foes and to create a legal framework to prosecute war crimes and prohibit the use of aggressive war. For the Japanese leaders on trial, it was their chance to argue that their war had been waged to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and that the court was no more than victors’ justice.Gary J. Bass' Judgement at Tokyo is a magnificent, riveting story of wartime action, dramatic courtroom battles, and the epic formative years that set the stage for the postwar era in the Asia–Pacific.'A comprehensive, landmark and riveting book' – The Washington Post, 'The 10 Best Books of 2023'Trade ReviewThis important book . . . Magisterial' -- Max Hastings, The Sunday TimesEvery so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well. -- James Holland, The Sunday TelegraphA work of singular importance – balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting. It is of huge relevance to our times. -- Philippe Sands, author of East-West StreetMagisterial . . . A well-crafted, warts-and-all account from which almost no one emerges unscathed. * Financial Times *A meticulously researched and authoritative account -- The Economist, 'The Best Books of 2023'Bass has written a massively long and detailed book, always lively and judgmental. He brings out not only the legal arguments, but the colour of the great tribunal itself. * The Observer *This magisterial account – long but never sprawling; thick with detail yet always engrossing . . . This is a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history. -- Christopher Harding, History TodayFascinating -- The New Yorker, 'Best Books of 2023'Comprehensive, landmark and riveting. . . . Bass employs the complexities of the trial as a fulcrum to sketch a wide canvas. . . . Fascinating * The Washington Post, 'The 10 Best Books of 2023' *Immersive -- The New York Times, 'Notable Books of 2023'Magnificent . . . Vivid . . . Profound * Foreign Affairs *Magisterial . . . Bass is a marvelous writer. * Air Mail *In this superb work of transnational history, Gary Bass uses the Tokyo trial to illuminate the making of the modern world. -- Ramachandra Guha, author of India After GandhiTo understand the dynamics of post-World War II Asia, Gary Bass’s Judgement at Tokyo is fascinating, essential reading. -- Barbara Demick, Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North KoreaGary Bass has written nothing less than a masterpiece. With epic research and mesmerizing narrative power, Judgement at Tokyo has the makings of an instant classic. -- Evan Osnos, US National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New ChinaA vivid and meticulously crafted account, rich in detail, fair-minded, superbly nuanced. -- Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s VietnamDestined to become a classic, Judgement at Tokyo is meticulously researched and elegantly written: it is also a necessary book. -- Anna Sherman, author of The Bells of Old Tokyo
£18.00
Rowman & Littlefield Agent of the Iron Cross: The Race to Capture
Book SynopsisOn January 30, 1918, Lothar Witzke, the most dangerous German agent in the western hemisphere had reached his destination. His mission: to destroy American defense plants, organize strikes in critical industries, and at a time of intense racial unrest, to incite an insurrection among the southern black citizenry. He was to begin the campaign of terror by murdering a U.S. intelligence officer in cold blood.On January 16th Witzke and several confederates departed Mexico City for the U.S. border. After crossing 1500 miles of rugged territory, encountering bandits and other hazards along the way, Witzke reached Nogales. But unknown to the saboteur-assassin, the German espionage network in Mexico had been penetrated by Allied intelligence and one of his companions was a double agent. Captured by U.S. Army intelligence and tried before a military court-martial, Lothar Witzke became the only enemy agent sentenced to death in the United States during World War 1.The Witzke mission was the intelligence game played at its highest level - a plan for destruction on a massive scale, violent insurrection, and assassination, complete with master spies and double agents, diabolical sabotage devices, secret codes, and invisible ink. Meticulously researched and written in the style of an adventure novel, Agent of the Iron Cross is the first detailed account of this legendary espionage operation.Trade ReviewThis story could not be made up. That is how bizarre it is, and the reader will not be able to put this book down. Most impressive is the author’s easy-to-understand description of the highly complicated deciphering process of Witzke’s code, not a small feat. Agent of the Iron Cross is a masterpiece of a historical tale. It reads like a novel, while uncovering hitherto unknown history, and satisfying highest scholarly standards. -- Heribert von Feilitzsch, Author of the Secret War Council Book SeriesThis is the brilliantly told, fast-paced story of “the most deadly sabotage team in history” as they carried out a campaign of terror on America and the exploits of the men brave enough to stop them. It’s a story as compelling and relevant today as it was then. -- Michael Digby, Author of Burn, Bomb, Destroy
£23.75
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The German Way of War on the Eastern Front
Book SynopsisOn 22 June 1941, at 0410hrs, Operation Barbarossa began. More than 3 million German soldiers crossed the border with the Soviet Union and moved east, where 4.7 million Soviet soldiers were waiting for them. Hitler expected his troops would be on the Volga before the end of the year and that important cities such as Moscow and Leningrad would have been captured. But the reality was very different; the Germans made impressive territorial gains, but their offensive eventually came to a halt at Stalingrad in December 1942, which proved to be a turning point in the war.This titanic battle is illustrated here using eyewitness accounts from generals, soldiers and civilians. Attention is not only paid to the course of the battle, but also to the tactics and organizational dimensions of the armies involved, the challenges of the vastness of the country, the dilemmas for people in the conquered areas, and the way the Germans tried to conquer their hearts while at the same time fighting a fierce
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Battle of Itter Castle 1945
Book SynopsisThe Battle of Itter Castle was undoubtedly one of the strangest events of the Second World War, being one of only two occasions during the war in which Americans and Germans fought side by side.The castle was seized by the Nazis on 7 February 1943, on the direct orders of Heinrich Himmler, and in just ten weeks was changed into a five-star prison for a number of high-ranking French dignitaries, both civilian and military.In the final days of the war, in May 1945, with the castle''s German guards having deserted their posts and an attack by SS units imminent, those inside the castle realised they needed help. Having sent out two men to try to make contact with American forces, it was then a case of sit and wait, not knowing if they had been successful in their task or had been captured and killed by the SS.Help eventually arrived in the shape of United States Army Captain John C. Jack Lee, his tank and a handful of men, along with German Wehrmacht officer Major Josef Sepp Gangl, and som
£19.80
Canelo Victory in the Desert: Montgomery and the Eighth
Book SynopsisThe end of the beginning… An epic conflictNorth Africa was a turning point for the British in the Second World War: a harsh landscape of sand and enemy tanks, but ultimately a place of victory, that Churchill famously called ‘the end of the beginning.’When General Montgomery became commander of the Allied Eighth Army in 1942, he found the troops dispirited after a series of defeats by his nemesis, General Rommel. However, under Monty’s inspired leadership the army turned their fortunes around, going on to win seven battles and driving the enemy out of North Africa.However, little credit has been attributed to the Eighth Army for its victories, and even the legendary Battle of El Alamein has been consistently underrated. This highly informed and gripping account brings to light how the troops, and their leaders, won these decisive battles, and helped to win the war.Lucid and accessible, this masterly account is vital reading for all enthusiasts of military history. Perfect for readers of Jonathan Dimbleby and Max Hastings.
£8.24
Fonthill Media Ltd King George V-Class Battleships
Book SynopsisFollowing the First World War the major naval powers entered into an agreement restricting the construction of capital ships and limiting the numbers that signatories were allowed to maintain, so numerous ships were scrapped or disposed of and the majority of planned vessel were either cancelled whilst being built or never laid down. By the late 1920s the Royal Navy’s battle force comprised of the two Nelson-class ships, the battlecruisers ‘Hood’, ‘Renown’ and ‘Repulse’, and ‘Revenge’ and Queen Elizabeth-class ships, all designed before the First World War. In 1928 the Royal Navy began planning a new class of battleships which was put on hold with the signing of the Treaty of London. In 1935, realising its battle fleet was becoming dated as other nations laid down new classes of battleships, the Royal Navy recommenced planning capital ships within treaty limitations. The result was the King George V-class battleships. Regarded by some as the worst new-generation battleships in the Second World War the King George V-class were Britain’s most modern battleships during the conflict and saw action in some of the most famous engagements from the sinking of the ‘Bismarck’ in 1941 to the surrender of Japan in 1945. This book charts the story of the King George V-class from its conception and design through to the operational history of the ships in the class.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Introduction; 1 Treaty Battleships; 2 Anatomy of the King George V-Class; 3 HMS ‘King George V’: Construction and Work Up; 4 HMS ‘Prince of Wales’: Construction and Work Up; 5 The ‘Bismarck’; 6 The Atlantic Charter; 7 Mediterranean Interlude; 8 The Singapore Strategy; 9 The Loss of HMS ‘Prince of Wales’; 10 ‘We Are All in the Same Boat Now’; 11 The Arctic Convoys; 12 ‘The Severest Test of Any’; 13 Operation Husky; 14 North Cape; 15 Tungsten; 16 The Eastern Fleet; 17 Goodwood; 18 The British Pacific Fleet; 19 Operation Iceberg; 20 Victory Over Japan; 21 After the War; 22 The Wreck of HMS ‘Prince of Wales’; Epilogue; Appendix I: Commanding Officers; Appendix II: King George V-Class and North Carolina-Class: A Comparison; Appendix III: HMS ‘Prince of Wales’ Battle of the Denmark Strait Roll of Honour; Appendix IV: The Atlantic Charter; Appendix V: Admiral Pound’s Minute; Appendix VI: HMS ‘Prince of Wales’ Roll of Honour, 10 December 1941; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index.
£34.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Imperial Armies of the Thirty Years War
Book SynopsisThis history of the Catholic armies of the Hapsburg Empire that fought in the Thirty Years'' War (1618-1648) explores the role of infantry and artillery during the last major religious war in mainland Europe. As the states of the Holy Roman Empire fractured along religious lines, all of Europe was plunged into a bloody conflict that lasted three decades, decimated populations, and annihilated communities. However, amidst this social, political, and religious catastrophe, important changes were experienced within the organization of armed forces. The war saw the end of the large mercenary forces and the beginnings of the well-disciplined national army. This book charts this progression, illustrating and explaining the forces of the key Catholic armies, while exploring the weapons, organization, tactics, and colorful uniforms used by the infantry and artillery.
£11.69
Stackpole Books Armored Attack 1944
Book SynopsisNearly 1200 photos of American and German tanks from World War II with Steven Zaloga's expert captions
£24.80
Quarto Publishing PLC Hero: The Life & Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
Book Synopsis'This magnificent, monumental portrait at a stroke makes all others redundant, and re-establishes Lawrence as one of the most extraordinary figures of the 20th century' Sunday Times Michael Korda’ s Hero is an epic biography of the mysterious Englishman whose daring exploits made him an object of intense fascination, known the world over as Lawrence of Arabia. An Oxford Scholar and archaeologist, one of five illegitimate sons of a British aristocrat who ran away with his daughters' governess, T.E. Lawrence was sent to Cairo as an intelligence officer in 1916, vanished into the desert in 1917, and re-emerged as one of the most remarkable and controversial figures of the First World War. He united and led the Arab tribes to defeat the Turks and eventually capture Damascus, an adventure he recorded in the classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom. A born leader, utterly fearless and seemingly impervious to pain and danger, he remained modest, and retiring. Farsighted diplomat, brilliant military strategist, the first media celebrity, and acclaimed writer, Lawrence was a visionary whose achievements transcended his time: had his vision for the modern Middle East been carried through, the hatred and bloodshed that have since plagued the region might have prevented. The democratic reforms he would have implemented as British High Commissioner of Egypt, are those the Egyptians are now demanding, 91 years later. Ultimately, as this magisterial work demonstrates, Lawrence remains the paradigm of the hero in modern times.Trade Review‘This book is monumental in every sense. The book has many virtues. Among the chief of these are its clarity and readability, its determination to leave no investigative stone unturned and the extraordinarily thorough research that has gone into its writing’‘Thorough and compelling’'a wealth of scholarly research and this book is absorbing, hugely informative and highly readable'‘ This book is monumental in every sense. The book has many virtues. Among the chief of these are its clarity and readability, its determination to leave no investigative stone unturned and the extraordinarily thorough research that has gone into its writing’ ‘ Thorough and compelling’ 'a wealth of scholarly research and this book is absorbing, hugely informative and highly readable'
£15.29
