Military History

Highly detailed and colourful, this account illustrates the struggle of Indonesian forces in their War of Independence against the Netherlands, following the surrender of occupying Japanese forces in 1945. Following on from MAA 521 Royal Netherlands East Indies Army 1936–42 and completing the coverage of the post-World War II wars of decolonization, The Dutch–Indonesian War 1945–49 describes the Japanese surrender in September 1945 which left a power vacuum in the colonial Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). Using vivid colour illustrations and rare photos, this title depicts the various forces involved in the struggle for Indonesia: the British Indian Army troops sent to key areas to disarm Japanese garrisons, the Indonesian nationalists who immediately proclaimed an independent Republic, remaining Japanese troops, and the Dutch forces which arrived in 1946. The wide dispersion of populations, and their ethnic, religious and political differences ensured that the struggle which followed was complex. Fragmented bands of nationalist permuda insurgents were slowly brought together under command of a republican army (the BKR, later TKR, and finally the TNI, complete with naval and air elements), but stubborn negotiations alternated with bouts of major fighting. This book details how the nationalists were defeated by Dutch and Dutch-led local forces in urban areas (e.g. during Operations Product and Crow, 1947 and 1948), but how their guerrillas evaded Dutch troops in the jungle hills and swamps. Illustrating a wide range of uniforms, insignia, personal weapons and equipment, this study showcases the troops and armour involved in the conflict.

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‘I loved it. A suitably epic account of one of the most seismic and far-reaching events in British history’ Dan SnowAn upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought.Going beyond the familiar outline, bestselling historian Marc Morris examines not only the tumultuous events that led up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but also the chaos that came in its wake – English rebellions, Viking invasions, the construction of hundreds of castles and the destruction of England’s ancient ruling class. Language, law, architecture, even attitudes towards life itself, were altered forever by the Norman Conquest.‘Retells the story of the Norman invasion with vim, vigour and narrative urgency’ Dan Jones, Sunday Times‘A wonderful book’ Terry Jones‘A much-needed, modern account of the Normans in England’ The Times

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A wartime romance, survival saga and murder mystery set in rural France during the First World War, from the bestselling author of ‘Operation Mincemeat’ and ‘Agent Zig-Zag’. Four young British soldiers find themselves trapped behind enemy lines at the height of the fighting on the Western Front in August 1914. Unable to get back to their units, they shelter in the tiny French village of Villeret, where they are fed, clothed and protected by the villagers, including the local matriarch Madame Dessenne, the baker and his wife. The self-styled leader of the band of fugitives, Private Robert Digby, falls in love with the 20-year-old-daughter of one of his protectors, and in November 1915 she gives birth to a baby girl. The child is just six months old when someone betrays the men to the Germans. They are captured, tried as spies and summarily condemned to death. Using the testimonies of the daughter, the villagers, detailed town hall records and, most movingly, the soldiers’ last letters, Ben Macintyre reconstructs an extraordinary story of love, duplicity and shame – ultimately seeking to discover through decades of village rumour the answer to the question, ‘Who betrayed Private Digby and his men?’ In this new updated edition the mystery is finally solved.

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The incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, now a major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. THE INTERNATIONAL NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER In 1943 a bomber crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Against all odds, one young lieutenant survives. Louise Zamperini had already transformed himself from child delinquent to prodigious athlete, running in the Berlin Olympics. Now he must embark on one of the Second World War’s most extraordinary odysseys. Zamperini faces thousands of miles of open ocean on a failing raft. Beyond like only greater trials, in Japan’s prisoner-of-war camps. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini’s destiny, whether triumph or tragedy, depends on the strength of his will … Now a major motion picture, directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Jack O’ Connell.

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SHUT UP & SIT DOWN RECOMMENDSâœThe greatest World War II board game of all timeâ â Shut Up & Sit Down2022 GOLDEN GEEK AWARDS BEST 2-PLAYER GAMELead your stalwart troops to victory in this epic two-player campaign, played out in the war's most infamous city. Stalingrad, 1942. Before you awaits a gruelling conflict in this cornerstone battleground. As the bullets and bombs tear the city asunder, only through wits and valour can you seize the cornerstone of the entire Eastern Front and change the course of history. A heavy burden rests on your shoulders. Every casualty suffered in battle will weaken your forces for the entire campaign. Every bomb blast and mortar shell leaves the very ground for which you are fighting in further ruin. Every inch lost to the enemy brings you closer to the jaws of defeat. Over the course of up to fifteen branching scenarios, you will decide the fate of Stalingrad and, perhaps, the war itself. Even though the consequences of your actions will persist, th

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The controversial account of what really happened in the south Atlantic skiesSharkey Ward commanded 801 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Invincible, was senior Sea Harrier adviser to the Command, flew over sixty missions and was awarded DSC. Yet had he followed all his instructions to the letter, Britain might well have lost the Falklands War.His dramatic first-hand story of the air war in the South Atlantic is also an extraordinary, outspoken account of inter-Service rivalries, bureaucratic interference, and dangerous ignorance of the realities of air combat among many senior commanders. As Sharkey Ward reveals, the 801 pilots were fighting not just the enemy, exhaustion, and the hostile weather, but also the prejudice and ignorance of their own side.

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IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROME!THE EAGLE AND THE WOLVES is the gripping fourth novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Eagles of the Empire series. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. 'A new book in Simon Scarrow's long-running series about the Roman army is always a joy' The TimesBritannia, AD 44. Occupation is never easy. The enemy is butchering their supply convoys, their garrison town is starving and the truce with the locals is uneasy at best. Young Cato, newly promoted, and veteran centurion Macro are ordered to train the Wolves and the Boars, two cohorts of barbarian Britons, and introduce them to the brutal drills of the Roman Imperial Army. Macro is confident they'll win the natives over, but Cato worries about putting weapons into the hands of potential rebels.Ultimately, only one thing matters: is there a difference between the enemy at their gates, and the allies in their own camp?

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This new illustrated book by noted Third Reich edged weapon author, collector, and dealer Thomas Johnson explores the vast array of militaria “liberated” from Germany by U.S. soldiers during the Second World War. The book contains over 580 beautiful full-color, large-format photographs of German daggers, swords, helmets, uniforms, insignia, award documents, weapons, and many other rare and unusual items. Also included is a generous selection of World War II era photographs showing many items in the act of being liberated.

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This is beautifully slipcased presented collector’ s edition of the best selling title, The Lost World of Bletchley Park, a comprehensive illustrated history of this remarkable place, from its prewar heyday as a country estate, its wartime requisition and how it became the place where modern computing was invented and the German Enigma code was cracked, to its post-war dereliction and then rescue towards the end of the twentieth century as a museum. Removable memorabilia includes: 1938 recruiting memo with a big tick against Turing’ s name Churchill’ s ‘ Action this day’ letter giving code breakers extra resources Handwritten Turing memos Top Secret Engima decryptions, about the sinking of the Bismark, German High Command’ s assessment of D-Day threat and the message announcing Hitler’ s suicide A wealth of everyday items such as call-up papers, security notices and propoganda posters Newly redesigned interiors with 25% new content, high end slipcase package featuring removable facsimile documents, this is an essential purchase for everyone interested and wanting to experience the place where code-breaking helped to win the war.

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The Korean War is journalist and military historian Sir Max Hastings’ compelling account of the forgotten war.'The best narrative history of the Korean conflict' – GuardianOn 25 June 1950 the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North launched one of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century. The seemingly limitless power of the Chinese-backed North was thrown against the ferocious firepower of the UN-backed South in a war that can be seen today as the stark prelude to Vietnam.Max Hastings draws on first-hand accounts of those who fought on both sides to produce this vivid and incisive reassessment of the Korean War, bringing the military and human dimensions into sharp focus. Critically acclaimed on publication, republished with an introduction from the author, The Korean War remains the best narrative history of this conflict.'A brilliant tour-de-force' – Times Literary Supplement'Excellent, readable history by a master of the genre' – Daily Mail'This book establishes him as one of the leading British military historians.' – New York Times

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The third edition of What is Military History? has been thoroughly updated, and includes a new bibliography and new case studies on naval warfare and the origins of war, as well as expanded sections on historiography, environmental history and world history. This popular textbook showcases a field that encompasses not only accounts of campaigns and battles, but includes a wide range of perspectives on all aspects of past military organization and activity. Its global and comparative analysis covers: the history of military history, showing how it has developed from ancient times to the present; the key ideas and concepts that shape analysis of military activity; the current controversies about which military historians argue, and why they are important; a survey of who does military history, where it is taught and published, and how it is practiced; and a look at where military history is headed in the future. Ideal for any interested reader and for classes in military history and in historiography generally, the third edition of this popular book thoroughly explains the dynamics of this rich and growing area of study.

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Eggs or Anarchy is one of the great, British stories of the Second World War yet to be told in full. It reveals the heroic tale of how Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, really fed Britain. As a nation at war, with supply routes under attack from the Axis powers and resources scarce, it was Woolton's job to fulfil his promise to the British people, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in particular, that there would be food on the shelves each week. Persuading the public to not resort to the black market and to manage on the very limited ration was one thing, but Woolton had to fulfil his side of the bargain and maintain supplies in time of crisis. A grammar school-educated genius, he was a fish out of water in Churchill's cabinet and the PM himself doubted Woolton would survive due to the unstinting criticism he faced from colleagues, the press and public. This is the story of how he battled to save his own career while using every trick in his entrepreneurial book to secure supplies. He battled to outwit unscrupulous dealers on the black market streets of cities within the British Empire - such as Alexandria in Eygpt - persuading customs authorities to turn a blind eye to his import schemes. If Britain had gone hungry the outcome of the war could have been very different. This book, for the first time, finds out the real story of how Lord Woolton provided food for Britain and her colonies and discovers that for him there were days when it was literally a choice of 'eggs or anarchy'.

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In March 1944, the Japanese Fifteenth Army launched an offensive into India from Burma. Named ‘U Go’, its main objective was the capture of the town of Imphal, which provided the easiest route between India and Burma. Whoever controlled it, controlled access between the two countries. Facing off against the Japanese was the British Fourteenth Army and its Imphal-based 4 Corps. For the next four months, over 200,000 men clashed in the hills and valley of Manipur in what has since been described as one of the greatest battles of World War II. Although numbers vary, it is estimated that some 30,000 Japanese soldiers died and 23,000 were injured at Imphal–Kohima in 1944 due to fighting, disease and in the retreat back to Burma. It remains the largest defeat on land ever for the Japanese Army. With fully commissioned artwork and maps, this is the complete story of the turning point in the Burma campaign in World War II.

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The astonishing true story of how the CIA, MI6 and a Soviet defector saved the world in 1962, as told in the new film, The Courier, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. In August 1960, a Soviet colonel called Oleg Penkovsky tried to make contact with the West. His first attempt was to approach two young American students in Moscow. He handed them a bulky envelope and pleaded with them to deliver it to the American embassy. MI6 and the CIA came to believe Penkovsky was genuine and so the two agencies decided to run the operation jointly. It ran right through the Berlin crisis - in an astonishing near-miss, Penkovsky learned that the Wall was going to be built four days before it happened but was unable to contact his handlers - and the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which rocket manuals Penkovsky had handed over were crucial in determining what President Khrushchev was doing, and helped President John F. Kennedy and his team end the crisis and avert a nuclear war. Penkovsky, codenamed HERO, is widely seen as the most important spy of the Cold War, and the CIA-MI6 joint operation to run him has never been bettered. But had the KGB already 'turned' Penkovsky and were the Russians making sure he saw the information they wanted him to see? If so, it may even have been possible that the whole Cuban Missile Crisis might have been a Russian deception operation.Thrilling, evocative and hugely controversial, Dead Drop blows apart some of the myths about one of the Cold War's most well-known operations as the world stood on the brink of nuclear destruction.

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'Excellent ... an astounding amount of material.'Times Educational Supplement Popular culture often portrays the Holocaust as ahorrific drama played out between Nazi executioners and ghetto Jewish victims -in short, a single aberration of history. Introducingthe Holocaust is a powerful graphic guide that dissolves thisstereotype, explaining the causes and its relevance today. It places theHolocaust where it belongs - at the centre of modern European and worldhistory. Haim Bresheeth and Stuart Hood - along with LitzaJansz's outstanding illustrations - bring a unique and unforgettable perspectiveto how we think about this most dark of shadows on human history.

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Illustrated with detailed artworks of German tanks and their markings with exhaustive captions and specifications, Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions 1939–45 is the definitive study of the equipment and organisation of the Wehrmacht’s armoured divisions. Organised by division, the book describes in depth the various models of tank in German service during the war with each individual armoured division, with listing of the unit commanders and any famous tank aces. Each divisional section is further broken down by campaign, accompanied by orders of battle, a brief divisional history of the campaign and any specific unit markings. With information boxes accompanying the full-colour artworks, all drawn to the same scale, Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions 1939–45 is an essential reference guide for modellers and any enthusiast with an interest in the armoured divisions of the German Wehrmacht.

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In the summer of 1914 Scotland prepared for war.Steel and Tartan charts the adventures of the 4th Battalion, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders – from their training in Bedford with the Highland Division through to five major engagements in France, including the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and the Battle of Loos, to eventual break-up in March 1916 at the hands of the British Army administrators. Of the 1,500 men who fought with the Battalion, over 250 were killed and either buried in one of the many British war cemeteries in France or else left where they fell, their names etched on one of the memorials to the missing.Using previously unpublished diaries, letters and memoirs together with original photographs and newspaper accounts, Patrick Watt tells the story of the gallant officers and men of the 4th Camerons: those ‘Saturday night soldiers’ who went so eagerly to war in August 1914.

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1914-1918, David Stevenson's history of the First World War, has been acclaimed as the definitive one-volume account of the conflictIn the summer of 1914 Europe exploded into a frenzy of mass violence. The war that followed had global repercussions, destroying four empires and costing millions of lives. Even the victorious countries were scarred for a generation, and we still today remain within the conflict's shadow. In this major analysis David Stevenson re-examines the causes, course and impact of this 'war to end war', placing it in the context of its era and exposing its underlying dynamics. His book provides a wide-ranging international history, drawing on insights from the latest research. It offers compelling answers to the key questions about how this terrible struggle unfolded: questions that remain disturbingly relevant for our own time.'It's harder to imagine a better single-volume comprehensive history of the conflict than this superb study' Ian Kershaw'Perhaps the best comprehensive one-volume history of the war yet written' New Yorker'David Stevenson is the real deal ... His defining characteristic is his outstanding rigour as an historian ... tremendously clever' Niall Ferguson'This history of the 1914-1918 conflict surpasses all others. It is tough, erudite and comprehensive' Independent

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In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt’s-eye view of the 11th Airborne’s heroic campaign to liberate the Philippines in World War II. A soldier’s history at its best.A Grunt’s-Eye View of Pacific WarfareThe Pacific theater of World War II pitted American fighting men against two merciless enemies: the relentless Japanese army and the combined forces of monsoons, swamps, mud, privation, and disease. General Joseph Swing’s rowdy paratroopers of the 11th Airborne Division— nicknamed the “Angels”—fought in some of the war’s most dramatic campaigns, from bloody skirmishes in Leyte’s unforgiving rainforests to the ferocious battles on Luzon, including the hellish urban combat of Manila. The Angels were trained as elite shock troops, but high American casualties often forced them into action as ground-pounding infantrymen. Surviving on airdropped supplies and reinforcements, the Angels fought their way across nearly impassable terrain, emerging as one of the most lethal units in the Pacific War. Their final task was the occupation of Japan, where they were the first American boots on the ground. Angels Against the Sun is an unforgettable account of the liberation of the Philippines. In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt’s-eye view of the war. This is a soldier’s history at its best.

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A fascinating insight into the complexity, history and unpredictability of Iraq from Rory Stewart, bestselling author of Politics on the Edge and host of hit podcast The Rest Is Politics.By September 2003, six months after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the anarchy had begun. Rory Stewart, a young British diplomat, was appointed as the Coalition Provisional Authority's deputy governor of a province of 850,000 people in the southern marshland region. There, he and his colleagues confronted gangsters, Iranian-linked politicians, tribal vendettas and a full Islamist insurgency.Occupational Hazards is Rory Stewart's inside account of the attempt to rebuild a nation, the errors made, the misunderstandings and insurmountable difficulties encountered. It reveals an Iraq hidden from most foreign journalists and soldiers. Stewart is an award-winning writer, gifted with extraordinary insight into the comedy, occasional heroism and moral risks of foreign occupation.'Beautifully written, highly evocative . . . a joy to read' – John Simpson'A marvellous book . . . a devastating narrative' – Simon Jenkins'Absolutely absorbing' – Ken Loach'Strikes gut and brain at once' – James Meek'Wonderfully observed, wise, evocative' – Observer

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NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE The heartbreaking and inspiring story of one of the deadliest battles of the Afghanistan war, acclaimed by critics as a classic. ‘A mind-boggling, all-too-true story of heroism, hubris, failed strategy, and heartbreaking sacrifice’ Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild At 5:58 AM on October 3rd, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating, located in frighteningly vulnerable terrain in Afghanistan just 14 miles from the Pakistani border, was viciously attacked. Though the 53 soldiers stationed there prevailed against nearly 400 Taliban fighters, their casualties made it the deadliest fight of the war that year. Four months after the battle, a review revealed that there was no reason for the troops at Keating to have been there in the first place. In The Outpost, Jake Tapper gives us the powerful saga of COP Keating, from its establishment to eventual destruction, introducing us to an unforgettable cast of soldiers and their families. This modern classic of military history is an indictment of the management of the war in Afghanistan, and a thrilling tale of true courage in the face of impossible odds.

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Heinz Guderian - master of the Blitzkrieg and father of modern tank warfare - commanded the German XIX Army Corps as it rampaged across Poland in 1939. Personally leading the devastating attack which traversed the Ardennes Forest and broke through French lines, he was at the forefront of the race to the Channel coast. Only Hitler's personal command to halt prevented Guderian's tanks and troops turning Dunkirk into an Allied bloodbath.Later commanding Panzergruppe 2 in Operation Barbarossa, Guderian's armoured spearhead took Smolensk after fierce fighting and was poised to launch the final assault on Moscow when he was ordered south to Kiev. In the battle that followed, he helped encircle and capture over 600,000 Soviet troops after days of combat in the most terrible conditions.Panzer Leader is a searing firsthand account of the most effective fighting force in modern history by the man who commanded it.

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Ian Knight's Warriors in Scarlet is a comprehensive and stirring history of the Victorian army between 1837 to 1860, from the Battle of Bossendon Wood to the Crimean War, a period of seismic change.An acclaimed military historian, Knight draws on first-hand accounts to show us the reality of life for the British soldier in this era – the drudgery of peace-time service, the excitement and privations of posting overseas, the floggings and desertions, the regimental pride and comradeship. The rapid expansion of the empire saw the army fighting in small wars across the world and Knight reveals the brutal reality of this colonial conflict from both sides. British soldiers trained in tactics that had beaten Napoleon were forced to adapt when faced with warriors with very different skills fighting on their home ground.Knight vividly recreates the action, from bloody skirmishes in Southern Africa and siege warfare in New Zealand to disasters like the 1842 retreat from Kabul and Chillianwalla in the Punjab – but shows that in reality the army won more than four-fifths of the battles they fought in this era. He describes how, by 1860 with their redcoats increasingly replaced by khaki, the British army was a more professional, efficient and increasingly ruthless fighting force.'Impressively researched and highly readable analysis' – Tony Pollard, Professor of Conflict History and Archaeology, University of Glasgow

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This book describes the design, manufacture, covert shipment and use of the many ingenious evasion and escape devices provided to Allied troops during WWII. Following the fall of mainland Europe, hostile Allied actions against land-based Axis forces were generally limited to air attacks. However, as the numbers of those attacks increased, the number of aircraft and crews failing to return grew alarmingly: something needed to be done to provide these air crews with aids to enable them to evade to safe territory or escape captivity, or losses of irreplaceable crews would become critical. Britain’s MI-9 and U.S. MIS-X organizations were formed solely to support evaders and prisoners of war in occupied territories. They developed a wide variety of evasion and escape devices that were given to Allied Forces prior to operations in hostile territory or delivered clandestinely to POWs. It worked: the aids facilitated the return of thousands of men to their units.

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A ground-breaking history of one of the greatest ever sieges. Masterfully brought to life by a leading expert using original Russian and German source material. '[An] excellent account.' - Richard Overy, The Telegraph Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award 2024 This new history of the first two years of this crucial battle for the heart and soul of Russia is the first in over a decade and also the first to look comprehensively at the wider military strategies of both sides. At a huge cost, the Red Army and the civilian population of Leningrad ultimately endured a bitter 900-day siege, struggling against constant bombing, shelling, and starvation. Throughout the siege, Soviet forces tried to break the German lines and restore contact with the garrison. To Besiege a City charts the first of these offensives which began in January 1942 and was followed by repeated assaults. Acclaimed Eastern Front historian Prit Buttar details how although the Red Army suffered huge casualties in the swampy and forested terrain, the German infantry divisions were also steadily eroded. Indeed, by keeping control of parts of the shores of Lake Ladoga, the Soviet Union was able to sustain Leningrad through the winters of the siege via the ‘road of life’, constructed across the frozen lake. This epic history details the dramatic race to create the road across the ice and first-hand accounts from both Soviet and German soldiers, many never previously translated, bring the horrific series of battles and assaults to life. Ultimately the determination of the defenders to hold out during this first phase of the siege and the desperate attempts to break it became a hugely significant part of Russian wartime history. The echoes of the battle persist to this day helping to define both a country and its politics. There is no better time to fully understand this history and To Besiege a City is the most comprehensive account to date.

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A history of the Soviet Navy''s cruisers, from the opening shots of the October Revolution through to the combat they saw during World War II.The Soviet Navy of World War II boasted a cruiser fleet that was among the most eclectic to see service. In this book, noted military historian and Soviet specialist Alexander Hill explains the role of cruisers in the Soviet Navy from the dramatic days of the October Revolution of 1917 through to the struggle they fought with Nazi Germany during World War II. Illustrated throughout with rare photos and original artwork, including a cutaway of Aurora, famous for its role in the Bolshevik October Revolution, and with profiles of the key classes, this book outlines the Soviets'' development of a cruiser force. Having inherited a number of cruisers from the Imperial Russian Navy, the new Soviet Navy went on to complete two unfinished Tsarist light cruisers during the 1920s. In the late 1930s, the Soviets built their first large warship

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In July 1943, Hitler launched Operation Zitadelle, the last German offensive on the Eastern Front. It was an attempt to shorten the German lines by eliminating the Kursk salient and was designed to result in the encirclement of the Red Army. In reality, the German tanks came up against impenetrable Russian defences: minefields, artillery and anti-tank emplacements, spread through lines 250km deep and manned by Russian troops whose actions often verged on the suicidal. The greatest tank battle in history, Operation Zitadelle assured the Nazis’ defeat and was ‘the swan song of the German tank arm’.Involving over 9,000 tanks, 5,000 aircraft, 35,000 guns and mortars, 2.7 million troops and 230,000 casualties, the Battle of Kursk’s scale and barbarity eclipsed all other clashes in Europe. In this book, historian Mark Healy gives a clear, concise account of those dramatic days in 1943.

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The Stalingrad battle and the Leningrad siege were just two of the brutal, devastating urban conflicts that marked the awful struggle between Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The cities were strategic fixed points in the sweeping advances and retreats of the opposing armies across eastern Europe. Yet no one has concentrated on these city battles before or has sought to tell the story of the campaigns through the fighting that took place in and around them. That is Anthony Tucker-Jones's purpose in this concise and vivid history of the urban war on the Eastern Front. Early in the war, during the Wehrmacht's crushing offensives of 1941 and 1942, the Red Army was forced out of a series of key cities. Moscow was threatened, Leningrad surrounded. Then, after the climactic battle at Stalingrad, the Red Army with increasing confidence, speed and power drove the Germans from the Soviet and East European capitals they had occupied. The final urban battles were fought in Germany's cities, culminating in Berlin. As he traces the course of the fighting for each city, Anthony Tucker-Jones looks at the local circumstances, the opposing forces, the strategic significance and the tactics employed. He focuses not only on the destruction and cruelty of such warfare, but on the heroism displayed on both sides and on the fate of the civilians who found themselves on the front line.

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"Compulsively readable laugh out loud history." Mary Roach Bomb-carrying bats. Poisoned flower arrangements. Cigars laced with mind-altering drugs. Listening devices implanted into specially-trained cats. A torpedo-proof aircraft carrier made out of ice and sawdust. And a CIA plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon ... just because. In Nuking the Moon, Vince Houghton, Historian and Curator at the International Spy Museum, collects the most inspired, implausible and downright bizarre military intelligence schemes that never quite made it off the drawing board. From the grandly ambitious to the truly devious, they illuminate a new side of warfare, revealing how a combination of desperation and innovation led not only to daring missions and brilliant technological advances, but to countless plans and experiments that failed spectacularly. Alternatively terrifying and hilarious, and combining archival research with newly-conducted interviews, these twenty-six chapters reveal not only what might have happened, but also what each one tells us about the history and people around it. If 'military intelligence' makes you think of James Bond and ingenious exploding gadgets ... get ready for the true story.

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Longlisted for the 2020 William Hill Sports Book of the Year'A gripping history' THE ECONOMIST 'The World Beneath Their Feet contains plenty of rollicking stories' THE TIMES'Gripping' THE SUNDAY TIMES'So far as adventure stories go, this book is tops.' Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump'[Ellsworth] recasts the era as a great Himalayan race...[and] it works brilliantly...his account of the 1953 ascent of Everest...feels unusually fresh' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Like if Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air met Lauren Hillenbrand's Unbroken ... an inviting and engrossing read' SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDOne of the most compelling international dramas of the 20th century and an unforgettable saga of survival, technological innovation, and breathtaking human physical achievement-all set against the backdrop of a world headed toward war.While tension steadily rose between European powers in the 1930s, a different kind of battle was raging across the Himalayas. Contingents from Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the United States had set up rival camps at the base of the mountains, all hoping to become recognized as the fastest, strongest, and bravest climbers in the world.Carried on across nearly the entire sweep of the Himalayas, this contest involved not only the greatest mountain climbers of the era, but statesmen and millionaires, world-class athletes and bona fide eccentrics, scientists and generals, obscure villagers and national heroes. Centered in the 1930s, with one brief, shining postwar coda, the contest was a struggle between hidebound traditionalists and unknown innovators, one that featured new techniques and equipment, unbelievable courage and physical achievement, and unparalleled valor. And death. One Himalayan peak alone, Nanga Parbat in Kashmir, claimed twenty-five lives in less than three years.Climbing the Himalayas was the Greatest Generation's moonshot--one shrouded in the onset of war, interrupted by it, and then fully accomplished. A gritty, fascinating history that promises to enrapture fans of Hampton Side, Jon Krakauer, and Laura Hillenbrand, The World Beneath Their Feet brings this forgotten story back to life.

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The battle of Bosworth was the culmination of the War of the Roses, the dynastic struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster that dominated England in the second half of the 15th century. Edward IV had secured the throne for the house of York, but his early death in 1483, followed by the death of his sons and the taking of the throne by his brother, Richard of York, saw a renewed outbreak of fighting. His reign began with a major rebellion and was dogged by rumours of his involvement in murder, with Richard facing threats not only from the lords he alienated but also the Lancastrian faction waiting in the wings. Henry Tudor eventually decided to take the huge risk of attempting to seize the throne and Richard’s army marched to meet him, finally clashing near Market Bosworth. Guiding the reader from the campaign's origins to its aftermath, and covering the commanders and forces of King Richard III and Henry Tudor, this is a complete treatment of one of the most important events in English history. The story of Bosworth has been transformed in the 20th century as an extensive survey between 2005 and 2009 by the Battlefields Trust has pinpointed the location of the battlefield, for many years a source of debate and controversy, and this new history is based on that interpretation. It will also highlight the incredible discovery of Richard III's remains in Leicester, the study of the bones and relate this to what was previously thought to have happened to him at the end of the battle.

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The aftermath of the 2003 Iraq invasion is a story that has yet to be told by those who fought their own war against a brutal insurgency: the private security contractors. Risking life and limb, often side by side with the US military but far more exposed, they were never to receive a hero's homecoming. They remained in the shadows, often with good cause, but that would change for ever on 31 March 2004, when a security convoy was ambushed in Fallujah and the charred bodies of two American operators were strung from a road bridge. Those events would ensure notoriety for the company involved: Blackwater. This is the untold story of the security industry and its private war, recounted by a man who witnessed it first hand: SAS veteran and New Zealand national Barrie Rice. His visceral, no-holds-barred account of his time with Blackwater is brought to life in scenes that lead to a reckoning with both the war and himself. This gripping account delivers a compelling slice of reality - the inside story of the private contractor's war.

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An accessible illustrated introduction to the brutal conflict in the former Yugoslavia, one of the greatest yet least understood tragedies of the 20th century. In 1991, an ethnically diverse and peaceful region of Europe descended into violence, lawlessness, bitter hatred and chaos, almost overnight to the bewilderment of international observers. Communities fractured along lines of ethnic and religious affiliation, and the ensuing fighting was deeply personal, resulting in horrific brutality, rape, torture and genocide, causing the deaths of thousands of people. Drawing on the latest research for this new edition, Alastair Finlan examines the internal upheavals of the former Yugoslavia and their international implications, including the failure of the Vance-Owen plan; the first use of NATO in a combat role and in peace enforcement; and the war in Kosovo, unsanctioned by the UN but prosecuted by NATO forces to prevent the ethnic cleansing of the region. Updated and revised, with specially commissioned colour maps and all new images throughout, this is a concise overview of the tragic conflict in former Yugoslavia and its significant consequences.

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The first indepth history of Langemark German Cemetery to be published with the English speaking visitor in mind, Studetenfriedhof to Soldatenfriedhof tells the story of the evolution of Langemark German cemetery from its creation in the Great War, the influence of the Nazis before and during WW2 and its evolution into the modern cemetery of today. Dispelling many of the myths and legends that surround the cemetery, Studetenfriedhof to Soldatenfriedhof takes the visitor on a detailed self-guided tour, following the route planned by its designer in the early 1930's. The clever use of "then and now" images helps the visitor visualise the evolution of the cemetery and explains the "who, what and why" of it all whilst walking in the footsteps of the past.

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Beginning in the Civil War, the U.S. Army sought to find an effective system to distinguish troops from different units. In the closing days of World War I, it finally arrived at a practical and desirable solution with the adoption of the shoulder patch or shoulder sleeve insignia. For more than eighty years, this often simple device, has been the source of pride and inspiration for servicemen everywhere. This all new collection (the third in a multi-volume set), with a gallery of more than 600 color and sepia toned illustrations of original insignia and period photographs, documents the evolution of these special insignia. From the period beginning with World War I to the Korean War era, you won’t find a more indispensable guide for the study and collection of U.S. Army shoulder patches. Collectors will especially enjoy the handy reference section for determining whether a patch was made by an ally, or a former foe. With special emphasis on theater made patches, these volumes are sure to be a collector’s paradise. Without a doubt, this series is the finest and most complete effort to date on the subject.

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Detailed coverage of the massive concrete towers used as anti-aircraft bastions, some of which still stand today.

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This book is the complete history of the 6th SS Gebirgs (Mountain) Division “Nord” in WWII. Formed in 1941, “Nord” was employed along the Finnish–Lapland front against battle-tested Soviet forces from 1941–44. Following the signing of the armistice between Finland and the Soviet Union in the summer of 1944, the division was moved to the western front. "Nord" units took part in Operation "Nordwind," the final German offensive on the western front in late December 1944, where they fought against American units for the first time. Tough defensive fighting along the Moselle and Rhine fronts followed up to the armistice in May 1945. The units of the division fought to the last, always with courage and valor, distinguishing itself as one of the best German units employed on the western front. Detailed operational history, rare combat images, maps, and personality profiles make this book the definitive history of "Nord."

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Russia’s brutal February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has attracted widespread condemnation across the West. Government and media circles present the conflict as a simple dichotomy between an evil empire and an innocent victim. In this concise, accessible and highly informative primer, Medea Benjamin and Nicolas Davies insist the picture is more complicated. Yes, Russia’s aggression was reckless and, ultimately, indefensible. But the West’s reneging on promises to halt eastward expansion of NATO in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union played a major part in prompting Putin to act. So did the U.S. involvement in the 2014 Ukraine coup and Ukraine's failure to implement the Minsk peace agreements. The result is a conflict that is increasingly difficult to resolve, one that could conceivably escalate into all-out war between the United States and Russia—the world’s two leading nuclear powers. Skillfully bringing together the historical record and current analysis, War In Ukraine looks at the events leading up to the conflict, surveys the different parties involved, and weighs the risks of escalation and opportunities for peace. For anyone who wants to get beneath the heavily propagandized media coverage to an understanding of a war with consequences that could prove cataclysmic, reading this timely book will be an urgent necessity.

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When Hitler marched into Austria in March 1938, he was given a rapturous reception. Millions lined the streets and filled the squares of Vienna. Tobias Portschy, a self-appointed regional Nazi chief, considered what to give the Fuhrer for his birthday, and devised a particular gift from the Austrian people: the elimination of Jewish life in the Burgenland, picturesque farming country about 70 km south-east of Vienna. Eichmann took note of the brutal methodology. The Holocaust had begun. Burgenland is an astonishing survey of Jewish history in Central Europe, an account of the opening salvo of what turned into the systematic industrial-scale genocide of European Jewry, a stern examination of British policy and the world’s wholly inadequate response. It is also a deeply personal memoir and family history. Impeccably researched and hugely ambitious in scope, it narrates the full arc of the Jewish experience in Central Europe over 300 years, following the lives of one family who played a significant part in events described, from the struggle for civil liberties to the resistance to fascism and the rise of Zionism. David Joseph has dissected an uncomfortable history, and the results demand a substantial reassessment of the orthodox narrative around the Holocaust both in Britain and in Austria.

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With First World War casualties mounting, there was an appeal for volunteers to train as front-line medical staff. Many women heeded the call: some responding to a vocational or religious calling, others following a sweetheart to the front, and some carried away on the jingoistic patriotism that gripped the nation in 1914. Despite their training, these young women were ill-prepared for the anguished cries of the wounded and the stench of gangrene and trench foot awaiting them at the Somme. Isolated from friends and family, most discovered an inner strength, forging new and close relationships with each other and establishing a camaraderie that was to last through the war and beyond. Based on the previously unpublished true stories of its nurses and medical staff, this book is a heart-warming account of the joys and sorrows of life in an extraordinary Somme field hospital.

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The bloody Albigensian Crusade launched against the Cathar heretics of southern France in the early thirteenth century is infamous for its brutality and savagery, even by the standards of the Middle Ages. It was marked by massacres and acts of appalling cruelty, deeds commonly ascribed to the role of religious fanaticism. Here, in the first military history of the whole conflict, Sean McGlynn tells the story of the crusade through its epic sieges of seemingly impregnable fortresses, desperate battles and destructive campaigns, and offers expert analysis of the warfare involved, revealing the crusade in a different light – as a bloody territorial conquest in which acts of terror were perpetrated to secure military aims rather than religious ones. The dramatic events of the crusade and its colourful leading characters – Simon de Montfort, Louis the Lion, Innocent III, Peter of Aragon, Count Raymond of Toulouse – are brought to life through the voices of contemporary writers who fought and experienced it.

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On 22 June 1941 Hitler unleashed his forces on the Soviet Union. Spearheaded by four powerful Panzer groups and protected by an impenetrable curtain of air support, the seemingly invincible Wehrmacht advanced from the Soviet Union’s western borders to the immediate outskirts of Leningrad, Moscow and Rostov in the shockingly brief period of less than six months. The sudden, deep, relentless German advance virtually destroyed the entire peacetime Red Army and captured almost 40 percent of European Russia before expiring inexplicably at the gates of Moscow and Leningrad. An invasion designed to achieve victory in three to six weeks failed and, four years later, resulted in unprecedented and total German defeat. David Glantz challenges the time-honoured explanation that poor weather, bad terrain and Hitler’s faulty strategic judgement produced German defeat, and reveals how the Red Army thwarted the German Army’s dramatic and apparently inexorable invasion before it achieved its ambitious goals.

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Generation Kill is about the young men sent to fight their nation's first open-ended war since Vietnam. Despite the flurry of media images to come of the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, you have never really met any of these people, who serve as front-line troops. For whatever reason, the media simply doesn't get them. As we all know, news accounts of the last two wars focused almost exclusively on battlefield imagery of high-tech weapons wreaking astounding destruction, comply with analysis from retired army grandees and other experts, punctuated by the odd heart-warming patriotic sound-bite. The troops themselves play a role in the media's presentation of recent wars rather like extras in The Triumph of the Will. They are everywhere yet somehow invisible. When they speak you get the sense that what they are saying has been carefully scripted. Now Generation Kill tells the soldiers' story in their own words.The narrative focuses on a platoon of 23 marines, many of them veterans of Afghanistan, whose elite reconnaissance unit spearheaded the blitzkrieg on Iraq. This is the story of young men that have been trained to become ruthless killers. It's about surviving death. It's about taking part in a war many questioned before it even began.Evan Wright was the only reporter with First Recon, which operated well ahead of most other forces, usually behind enemy lines. They were among the first marines sent into the fight and one of the last units still engaged on the outskirts of Iraq, even after the city centre fell. Generation Kill is not just a combat chronicle but an inside look at how people fighting in war actually experience it. It is both an action narrative like Black Hawk Down and a detailed portrait of a generation at war along the lines of Band of Brothers. It is not a book you are going to forget in a hurry...

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Describes how newly modernized Japan waged war against China in its first overseas campaign, marking its rapid transition into Asia's leading military power only 30 years after emerging from centuries of feudalism. After the Meiji restoration of the Japanese imperial regime in 1868–77, modernization along Western lines of Japan's industry, communications and land and naval forces advanced with remarkable speed and, by the 1890s, the rejuvenated nation was ready to flex its muscles overseas. The obvious opponent was the huge but medieval Chinese Empire, and the obvious arena for war was Korea, a nearby Chinese protectorate that Japan had long coveted. (A secondary campaign would be fought on Formosa/Taiwan, an autonomous Chinese island protectorate.) In this study, author Gabriele Esposito describes the bloodthirsty course of the Japanese campaign in China, using colour illustrations and photos to showcase the organization, equipment and appearance of the various Chinese forces (China had no true national army), the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, and, for the first time in English, the Korean and Formosan participants. Japan's victory left it confident enough to challenge Imperial Russia and, nine years later, it defeated it at the Battle of Tsushima where two-thirds of the Russian fleet was destroyed by the Japanese Navy. This victory confirmed Japan's place as Asia's leading military power, soon to become a realistic rival to the West.

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The Great War was so devastating – eight million lives were lost globally – that in its aftermath a horrified world expected it to be the final chapter in armed conflict. Mapping The First World War provides a uniquely different perspective on the ‘war to end all wars’. An introduction details the causes and progress of the war and is followed by over a hundred maps and charts that show the broad sweep of events, from Germany’s 1914 war goals to the final positions of the troops. There are maps depicting movements and battles as well as related documents, such as those on levels of conscription and numbers of weapons. As in all wars, maps were vital to the military organization of all sides during World War I. Before each military event there was the planning, the reconnaissance, and the conjecture as to enemy positions. After the event there would be debriefing, analysis of success and failure, and a redrawing of maps to show new troop positions and boundaries. All of the maps featured in this book have been drawn from the extensive collection held by the National Archives at Kew in west London. Providing a fascinating and unique insight into the planning and organization of military campaigns, Mapping The First World War is essential for anyone interested in military history.

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When the Romans occupied the southern half of Britain in AD 43, the Iceni tribe quickly allied themselves with the invaders. Having paid tribute to Rome, they continued to be ruled by their own kings. But 17 years later when Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni, died the Romans decided to incorporate his kingdom into the new province. When his widow Boudicca protested, she 'was flogged and their daughters raped', sparking one of the most famous rebellions in history. This book tells how Boudicca raised her people and other tribes in revolt, overran the provincial towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans), destroyed the IX Legion, and nearly took control of the fledgling Roman province, before being finally brought to heel in a pitched battle at Mancetter.

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