Military History Books

Book SynopsisA new appraisal of the role of tanks in India and Burma in the Second World War. Often regarded primarily as an infantryman's war in dense jungle and through monsoon conditions, this book shows that this is far from the whole story.

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Book SynopsisFrom its introduction in 2007, the International Harvester Navistar MaxxPro evolved to meet the demands of U.S. military personnel in defeating the effects of improvised explosive devices on vehicles in the theaters of operation in Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2015, nearly 9,000 MaxxPro MRAP variants had been in service with 16 nations in addition to the United States.Based on the sturdy and reliable line of International Harvester commercial trucks, the MaxxPro MRAP variants would grow to encompass the M1224; M1224A1; M1234; M1235 and the massive M1249 wrecker. Noted military vehicle experts John Adams-Graf and David Doyle tackle this subject like never before. Tracing the origins of the MaxxPro from its conception in 2006 and throughout its varied career in all combat theaters, this is a Visual History title like no other. Drawing on official documents and Defense Department imagery every facet of the vehicle’s development and deployment are covered. Each of the full-page color photographs is more stunning than the next. Arranged chronologically, the coverage depicts Iraq and Afghanistan zones, as well as training areas and finally the redeployment of the MaxxPro family in the hands of Iraqi and Afghani national troops. This coverage is also supplemented with detailed walk around images of the M1224 and M1249 wrecker. All in all, a title not to be missed by the modern vehicle enthusiast and an indispensable reference for anyone owning the Kinetic or Bronco scale model kits.Trade ReviewMore photo album than history book…complete with comprehensively captioned full-page colour photographs. * Classic Military Vehicle Magazine *All in all, a title not to be missed by the modern vehicle enthusiast and an indispensable reference for anyone looking to tackle the Kinetic or Bronco 1/35-scale kits. * Military Modelcraft International *In one publication you can expect detailed info about several versions of MRAP, which are accompanied with detailed photos. Of course, such reference guide will be a valuable addition to your build project, and I would recommend to get it if you are interested in modern military vehicles. * DetailScaleView *This is a superbly produced and very interesting book. Not only are the photographs clear and sharp, but the information they and the notes provided will prove very useful to the modeller to get even the smallest detail correct on their model. * Britmodeller.com *

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Book SynopsisThis book promotes a historically and culturally sensitive understanding of trauma during and after World War II. Focusing especially on Eastern and Central Europe, its contributors take a fresh look at the experiences of violence and loss in 1939–45 and their long-term effects in different cultures and societies. The chapters analyze traumatic experiences among soldiers and civilians alike and expand the study of traumatic violence beyond psychiatric discourses and treatments. While acknowledging the problems of applying a present-day medical concept to the past, this book makes a case for a cultural, social and historical study of trauma. Moving the focus of historical trauma studies from World War I to World War II and from Western Europe to the east, it breaks new ground and helps to explain the troublesome politics of memory and trauma in post-1945 Europe all the way to the present day. This book is an outcome of a workshop project ‘Historical Trauma Studies,’ funded by the Joint Committee for the Nordic Research Councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS) in 2018–20.Chapters 4, 5 and 6 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.Table of ContentsPart I Comparative Approaches1 The Limits of Trauma: Experience and Narrative in Europe c. 1945 2 Beyond the Western Front Part II Case Studies 3 Testing the Silence: Trauma and Military Psychiatry in Soviet Russia and Ukraine During and After World War II 4 Experiencing Trauma Before Trauma: Posttraumatic Memories, Nightmares and Flashbacks Among Finnish Soldiers 5 Entangled Bystanders: Multidimensional Trauma of Ethnic Cleansing and Mass Violence in Eastern Galicia 6 Traumatized Children in Hungary After World War II 7 “We will cry a little, but then we will forget”: Narratives of Loss and Victory in Postwar Yugoslavia 8 Guilt, Responsibility and Trauma: Restoring the Moral Self-Image in Postwar Slovakia 9 “Perpetrator Trauma” in Memoirs of Veterans of the Polish Home Army 10 Environmental Trauma in the Narratives of Postwar Reconstruction: The Loss of Place and Identity in Northern Finland After World War II 11 Suicide Rates as a “Social Thermometer”: Reading the Traumatized History of Lithuania Part III Coda 12 Towards a History of Trauma in Central and Eastern Europe After World War II: A Coda

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Book SynopsisSmyrna, September 1922: A young Anatolian Greek is taken prisoner at the end of the Greek-Turkish war and marched off into the interior. He recounts his escape and heart-stopping journey through the familiar landscape of his lost homeland, where his ability to pass as a Muslim Turk reveals the common culture shared by the different communities of the crumbling Ottoman empire. A classic tale of survival in a time of nationalist conflict, A Prisoner of War's Story is a beautifully crafted and pithy narrative. Affirming the common humanity of peoples, it earns its place among Europe's finest anti-war literature of the post-world war I period.Trade Review"An arresting snapshot of the moment when the iron grid of nation states clanged down on one part of the Balkans. The translation is clean, accurate and a pleasure to read." -- Maria Margonis, Times Literary Supplement"A Prisoner of Wars Story is a book of subtle and effective artistry, a history that captures the reader with ease and stays long within the memory." -- Kevin McGrath, Harvard review"Doukas s powerful tale taps into the modernist tradition: spare, hard-nosed, and devoid of heroic passions in describing a mans determination to survive." -- Tony Maniaty, The AustralianTable of ContentsForeword, Map: Narrators Journey, A Prisoner of Wars Story, Background Note by the Author, Afterword

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Book SynopsisThe first book to present the so-called Hitler Library. It sheds new light on the readings of Hitler and on his techniques how to read a book. Hitler presented himself as an ideal reader of Schopenhauer, nevertheless his remarks destroy that image, particularly if we see how he read Ernst Jünger, Richard Wagner, or Paul de Lagarde, and how he reread Mein Kampf.The book describes the gnostic character of the phenomenon as an explication of the success of nazism and that of the Hitler myth and challenges the static views of traditional historiography.Table of ContentsForeword Hitler and I, You and He “The Führer is Reading” Chapter 1 Hitler’s Erudition and Reading Habits Chapter 2 Books That Hitler Read: Penciled Notes Attest Reflections on Ernst Jünger’s “Magic Realism” Arndt’s “Catechism” Lagarde’s Rages Chamberlain and Wagner Readings on Economic Politics and Military Science Chapter 3 Books That Hitler Read Into On Nazi Belles-Lettres Bishop Hudal’s Attempt at Conciliation Knickerbocker’s Diplomacy and War Chapter 4 Books That Hitler Did Not Read (In Depth) French Authors, Franco-German Relations An Eastern and Central European Intermezzo Nazi Lyric War Nostalgia and the Conservative Revolution Nazi Mythology I: Sexuality, Bluestockings and Go-Getters Nazi Mythology II: Race Breeding, Occultism and Gnosticism Chapter 5 Hitler’s Works Hitler’s First Book Mein Kampf: My Struggle, Sein Kampf: His Struggle: Hitlerian Gnosis Chapter 6 On the Führer’s Taste: Artistic Albums and Catalogues Epilogue Farewell to the World of Hitler and His Library Selected Bibliography Name Index

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Book SynopsisA TLS and a Prospect Book of the Year A revelatory, explosive new analysis of the military today. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century the British Army fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, at considerable financial and human cost. Yet neither war achieved its objectives. Award-winning journalist Simon Akam questions why, and provides challenging but necessary answers. Composed from assiduous documentary research, field reportage, and hundreds of interviews, this book is a strikingly rich, nuanced portrait of one of our pivotal national institutions in a time of great stress. This is as much a book about Britain, and about the politics of failure, as it is about the military.Trade Review‘The truth about the British Army’ -- Jason Burke * The Guardian *‘A blockbuster critique … with heaps of evidence.’ -- Matthew Paris * The Times *‘Akam’s beautifully written, from the inside out, account of the British Army’s reluctance to engage with the realities of recent small wars, in Afghanistan in particular, is a must-read for every serious student of modern military history. At one level, it explains how and why we managed to turn victory over Al Qaeda in Afghanistan into defeat at the hands of the Taliban. But this book is about much more than the army in Afghanistan — it is a parable about failure, the failure of a revered institution, with a proud history and an uncritical public, to come to terms with a changed and changing world.’ -- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Afghanistan‘Simon Akam has written a perceptive, challenging, and passionate book that looks at modern soldiering. In doing so, Akam provides an invaluable look at how the British Army works — and how the changing world in the 21st century is asking new and complex questions for soldiers and military strategy alike.’ -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads‘This brave, absorbing, and prodigiously well-researched tour de force renders every previous account of the British Army in its disastrous recent campaigns obsolete. Akam makes an unanswerable case that we are no longer very good at fighting wars, building his arguments with panache and good sense. In doing so he has done his country, and the army, a great service — although the Generals may not see it quite that way just yet. Put away the self-serving autobiographies and the obsequious histories of in-house academics; this is the definitive account of the British Army in its 21st Century misadventures.’ -- Frank Ledwidge, author of Losing Small Wars‘Simon Akam delivers a devastating indictment of Britain’s military chiefs for overseeing the shocking decline of the nation’s armed forces. His book is compulsory reading for every patriot.’ -- Tom Bower, biographer‘A powerful, compelling, and fascinating polemic. Essential reading.’ -- William Boyd‘A brilliant book … Gets right to the heart of so many of the British Army’s problems.’ -- Simon Scarrow, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Eagles of the Empire series‘A new book looks at the changes the British Army has undergone and roles it has played as an almost volunteer sidekick to the American military in the war on terror.’ -- CJ Chivers * The New York Times *‘Akam is an angry young man and the book is better for it.’ * The Times *‘A passionate book.’ -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *‘It’s compellingly written — I got through all 500-plus pages in two sittings – and it is certainly worth the effort.’ -- Adrian Weale * Mail on Sunday *‘Detailed and well structured.’ -- Anthony Loyd * New Statesman *‘Impassioned … It is a valuable addition to analysing the past, present, and future of a venerated institution.’ -- Kim Sengupta * The Independent *‘Gripping and thoroughly disheartening.’ -- Al Murray‘Simon Akam … has written a timely, elegant, and important book, The Changing of the Guard, about the British army’s failures in Afghanistan and Iraq.’ -- David Patrikarakos * The Spectator *‘Full of gripping reportage and compelling personal stories … the story he tells is profoundly important.’ -- David French * TLS *‘Akam makes many important points and reports in depth on officers’ recollections of specific episodes.’ -- Helen Parr * Prospect *‘A “state-of-the-nation” book of resounding power, deep conviction, and far-reaching significance.’ -- Richard Davenport-Hines * TLS *‘A blistering account … Akam’s research, including interviews with 260 individuals, is formidable.’ -- Richard Norton-Taylor * Declassified UK *‘Akam contends that there was as little accountability within the military hierarchy as there was outside it … The military would obviously like to avoid a close examination of this unbroken string of catastrophes, but Akam’s book is a gentle account — critical, but not unsympathetic.’ -- Tom Stevenson * London Review of Books *‘The Changing of the Guard is a major book that provides the first serious analysis of the effectiveness of the modern British Army … With a particular focus on the failure of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he gives a brunt assessment of the Army as an institution and its role in society. There is lots of interesting material here and some relevant lessons for Australia.’ -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *‘A scathing account of the British army in the years after 9/11 … Akam has not just done his homework, interviewing 260 people, but also shows his working in 89 pages of footnotes, full of forensic detail — and delicious gossip.’ -- Shashank Joshi * Spectator Australia *‘It is a review of the British Army … It does not tell a ‘pretty’ story — rather, it is a ‘warts and all’ tale … Simon Akam has written a fine book on how and why the British Army has changed, between 2001 and 2020. For those who have seen military service, it will provide a broad picture of the conditions some soldiers have faced in the early 21st Century. For those who have not, it shows clearly the true face of war, as it is fought in this day and age, and may, possibly, be fought in the near future and within current social value sets.’ -- Rob Ellis * RUSI VIC Library *‘[In] beautifully written, evocative, and passionate prose, [Akam places] you in the boots of British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan suddenly discovering the mission they’ve volunteered for isn’t the war they’re fighting at all … He begins asking questions at ground level, 260 interviews probing everyone from commanders, medal winners to those convicted of war crimes … This breadth of research gives Akam’s book immense power.’ -- Nicholas Stuart * The Canberra Times *‘[A] valuable and salutary read.’ * Foreign Affairs *‘The Changing of the Guard has contributed to the ongoing debate over how the British Army might change further as it enters a post-pandemic world where security challenges demand considerable flexibility of mind… Anything that provokes such self-awareness is good for institutions.’ * War on the Rocks *‘This is an unofficial oral history, created by hundreds of interviews as well as documents and personal observations by the author … This is a well written, organised and researched book … It reads well and is dynamic keeping the reader engaged … I commend Simon Akam for creating an accurate book that could be used as a Leadership discussion case study for the British Army as well as other militaries … It should become required reading at Sandhurst and the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College as well as the Defence Academy of the UK.’ -- Preston McLaughlin * Small Wars Journal *

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Book SynopsisWith two of the most important documents in American history, this handsome edition features both the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence.

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Book SynopsisThe First World War was one of the deadliest conflicts in modern history and produced horrors undreamed of by the young men who cheerfully volunteered for a war that was supposed to be over by Christmas. Whether in the patriotic enthusiasm of Rupert Brooke, the disillusionment of Charles Hamilton Sorley, or the bitter denunciations of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, the war produced an astonishing outpouring of powerful poetry. Edited by author and editor Marcus Clapham, the major poets are all represented in this beautiful Macmillan Collector’s Library anthology, Poetry of the First World War, alongside many others whose voices are less well known, and their verse is accompanied by contemporary motifs.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

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Book SynopsisA HISTORICAL SEARCH AND FIND BOOK FEATURING SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS BATTLES AND EVENTS OF WORLD WAR TWO.Where's Churchill is a collection of search and find scenes themed around World War II's most famous battles and events. It includes D-Day, Stalingrad, The Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbour and many other significant events, all packed with details to pore over as you hunt for Churchill and a cast of other historical figures. With bitesize chunks of information about each famous battle, you might learn a thing or two as well.This is the perfect gift for history enthusiasts.

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Book SynopsisAfter WWII, Ilse Koch became known worldwide as the “Bitch of Buchenwald.” She was assuredly guilty of atrocities, but the most sensational crimes ascribed to her by prosecutors and newspapers went unproven. Tomaz Jardim reveals how Koch’s perceived betrayal of womanhood sealed her fate as a scapegoat for a society seeking absolution.Trade ReviewScrupulous and unsettling, this is a vital reconsideration of a notorious figure from history. * Publishers Weekly *[Jardim] argues that Koch, convicted for her moral and ideological culpability in assaulting prisoners…received a gendered treatment by the American and German presses…This focus on the salacious, sensational, and extraordinary hindered an honest examination of the routinized and bureaucratized slaughter by a regime based on the popular support and participation of many ordinary people. * Choice *The definitive portrait of Ilse Koch, whose caricature as a sadistic nymphomaniac has for too long dominated representations of Nazi female perpetrators. In Jardim’s judicious hands, Koch’s story reveals much about the Nazi system, postwar justice, and the sexism that permeated both, while firmly establishing Koch’s guilt and paranoid antisemitism. -- Wendy Lower, author of Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing FieldsAn indispensable, superbly researched contribution to the literature on postwar trials of Nazi crimes. Caught between her own obvious prevarications and lack of remorse, the US public’s thirst for sensationalism, and Germany’s need for a spectacular symbol of gender-violating deviance to serve as a convenient scapegoat, Ilse Koch was the rare case of a Nazi perpetrator who was over-prosecuted and over-punished. -- Christopher R. Browning, author of Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in PolandFascinating and highly original. Deploying a number of previously neglected sources, Jardim not only explores Koch’s life and trials, but also raises intriguing questions about how guilt can ever be established when all but the most circumstantial evidence is absent. A high-caliber contribution. -- Elizabeth Borgwardt, author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human RightsA gripping account of a Nazi placed on trial after the war, both in court and in the press, for her gruesome acts at Buchenwald concentration camp. Looking closely at Koch’s life and motivations, Jardim offers a brilliant study of postwar Germany and America trying to come to grips with the barbarity of the Nazis, human wickedness, and the role of women perpetrators. -- Susannah Heschel, author of The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi GermanyIn a stroke of genius, Jardim shows how the figure of Ilse Koch—popularly depicted as a bad wife, a worse mother, and a sexually threatening woman—helped frame the Holocaust as being, fundamentally, about psychological perversion and deviation from the gendered norms of civilization. In so doing, he makes the role of gender in postwar Nazi trials not only legible, but inescapable. -- Devin O. Pendas, author of Democracy, Nazi Trials, and Transitional Justice in Germany, 1945–1950A fascinating, revelatory book. Jardim’s deft account of the trials of one of the most infamous Nazi defendants serves as a prism through which he examines such big themes as the postwar reckoning with the camps, the popular (mis)understanding of Nazi crimes, and the politics of memory. -- Nikolaus Wachsmann, author of KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"How to Think About War will have a broad appeal to academics in the fields of classics, history, and political science, as well as to professional foreign policy analysts, political thinkers, and military strategists . . . . Hanink has produced a noteworthy resource that introduces the reader to the principal debates in warfare and foreign policy, both ancient and modern."---Nicholas D. Cross, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"[In How to Think About War] we find shrewd observations on current events (in this case, the Peloponnesian War) matched with a taste for strategic prudence in dealing with adversaries. These insights illuminate some of the history that Santayana supposed we’re prone to repeat through ignorance."---Tracy Lee Simmons, City Journal"[An] innovative translation. . . . With How to Think about War, students . . . see key speeches set chronologically and in contrast to one another, avoiding an entirely one-dimensional takeaway . . . Hanink’s translation provides a worthwhile addition to the ongoing dialogue inspired by Thucydides."---MAJ Kerney M. Perlik, US Army War College Quarterly"[Hanink’s] vivid translations and thoughtful notes furnish a delightful entry point for one wishing to wrestle with some of the most studied, and still relevant, passages of Greek literature. [Her] rendition of Thucydides’ notoriously difficult prose is effective and will appeal to the Thucydidean neophyte."---Matthew Sears, Classical Review

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Book SynopsisOwen W. Gilman Jr. stresses the US experience of war in the twenty-first century and argues that wherever and whenever there is war, there will be imaginative responses to it, especially the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since the trauma of September 11, the experience of Americans at war has been rendered honestly and fully in a wide range of texts--creative nonfiction and journalism, film, poetry, and fiction. These responses, Gilman contends, have packed a lot of power and measure up even to World War II's literature and film.Like few other books, Gilman's volume studies these new texts-- among them Kevin Powers's debut novel The Yellow Birds and Phil Klay's short stories Redeployment, along with the films The Hurt Locker, American Sniper, and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. For perspective, Gilman also looks at some touchstones from the Vietnam War. Compared to a few of the big Vietnam books and films, this new material has mostly been read and

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Book SynopsisA pioneering examination of nuclear trauma, the continuing and new nuclear peril, and the subjectivities they generate Amid resurgent calls for widespread nuclear energy and “limited nuclear war,” the populations that must live with the consequences of these decisions are increasingly insecure. The nuclear peril combined with the looming threat of climate change means that we are seeing the formation of a new kind of subjectivity: humans who are in a position of perpetual ontological insecurity. In Radioactive Ghosts, Gabriele Schwab articulates a vision of these “nuclear subjectivities” that we all live with. Focusing on the legacies of the Manhattan Project, Hiroshima, and nuclear energy politics, Radioactive Ghosts takes us on a tour of the little-seen sides of our nuclear world. Examining devastating uranium mining on Native lands, nuclear sacrifice zones, the catastrophic accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima, and the formation of a new transspecies ethics, Schwab shows how individuals threatened with extinction are creating new adaptations, defenses, and communal spaces. Ranging from personal accounts of experiences with radiation to in-depth readings of literature, film, art, and scholarly works, Schwab gives us a complex, idiosyncratic, and personal analysis of one of the most overlooked issues of our time.Trade Review"This book, a wake-up call and a tour de force of wide-ranging interdisciplinary scholarship, is beautifully written and accessible; Gabriele Schwab moves nuclear power discourse further by focusing on aspects rarely addressed together, like psychic, racial, gender and class implications. Her short personal interludes add yet another layer of meaning. Radioactive Ghosts should be required reading for everyone hoping the human species can survive."—E. Ann Kaplan, author of Climate Trauma: Foreseeing the Future in Dystopian Film and Literature"The innocent sounding Manhattan project forever put a Damocles sword on human existence. The first uranium that made the Project possible was dug from Africa. Drawing parallels between the extraction of uranium and the extraction of slave labor, Gabriele Schwab shows the prominent role of colonialism and race in the politics of nuclear production and possession. Radioactive Ghosts, with its clarity of prose and thought, reminds us that we humans have only the one planet. Why, oh, why should any nation be proud that they have the capacity to destroy all planetary life? Exorcise these radioactive ghosts by banning and destroying all these weapons of human destruction. End this MADNESS."—Ngugi wa Thiong'o, author of Wrestling with the Devil "Gabrielle Schwab’s thought-provoking book makes a timely contribution to the on-going nuclear debate."—Journal of Peace ResearchTable of ContentsContentsPreface: Of Three-Eyed Fish and Other GhostingsIntroduction: Why Nuclear Necropolitics Today?Part I. Nuclear Subjectivities1. No Apocalypse, Not Now: Derrida and the Nuclear Unconscious2. Nuclear Colonialism3. Critical Nuclear Race Theory4. The Gender of Nuclear SubjectivitiesInterlude: Children of the Nuclear AgeWith Simon J. OrtizPart II. Haunting from the Future5. The Afterlife of Nuclear Catastrophes6. Hiroshima’s Ghostly Shadows7. Postnuclear Madness and Nuclear Crypts8. Transspecies Selves: Intimacies, Extimacies, AnimaciesCoda: Postnuclear Ecologies: Language, Body, and Affect in Beckett’s Happy DaysAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of Britain was the decisive air campaign fought over Southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940. From 10th July until 31st October 1940 Fighter Command aircrews from over 16 nations fought and died repelling the Luftwaffe. Discover tales of courage, bravery and a host of fascinating, and little-known facts about the combatants, leaders and strategies of both sides. Find out about propaganda employed by both sides to try and influence the battle, the Dowding system relaying information to the pilots in their fighter's and the classic 1969 film starring Sir Laurence Oliver. This absorbing book is published to coincide with the commemorations surrounding the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain 2020. "The Amazing and Extraordinary Facts series" presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.Table of Contents Introduction 7 Part One: Preparations for Battle 10 Who Named the 'Battle of Britain'? 10 Operation Sea Lion 12 Germany's Secret Air Force 15 The Four Groups of 'The Few' 19 The Major Players: Sir Hugh Dowding 23 Radio Detection Finding (RDF) 25 The Major Players: Air Vice Marshell Sir Keith Park 27 The Major Players:Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Göring 29 The Starts of the Skies: The Supermarine Spitfire 33 The Unsung Story of Hazel Hill 36 The Shadow Factory Plan 38 Buried Treasure? 41 Part Two: The Early Skirmishes 44 The Kanalkampf 44 The Stars of the Skies: The Messerschmitt Bf 109 48 The Stars of the Skies: The Hawker Hurricane 52 Protecting Convoy Peewit 56 Operation Eagle Attack 58 Aldertag: 13 August 1940 61 Part Three: The Battle Intensifies 66 'Black Thursday': 15 August 1940 64 The Stars of the Skies: The Junkers Ju 88 66 The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) 69 The 'Atta Girls' 71 'Miss Shilling's Orifice' 74 'The Hardest Day': Sunday 18 August 1940 78 Top Guns and Flying Aces: Peterson Clarence Hughes 81 Top Guns and Flying Aces: Heinrich Bär 86 Top Guns and Glying Aces: Werner Mölders 88 The 303 Squadron 91 Top Guns and Flying Aces: Adolf Galland 94 The Big Wing Controversy 99 The Nerve Centre of the No.11 Group 102 Cotton's Club 104 Part Four: Rage in the Skies 106 Göring Hits the Sector Stations 106 Revenge Attacks 107 The Blitz Begins: 7 September 110 The Battle of Britain Movie (1969) 114 Top Guns and Flying Aces: Adolf 'Sailor' Malan 116 Top Guns and Flying Aces: Douglas Bader 121 Battle of Britain Day: 15 September 1940 126 Conclusion 129 The Legacy of the Battle of Britain 131 Index 134 Acknowledgments 144

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Book SynopsisIn this haunting tale from the bestselling author of The Storyteller of Casablanca, Beatrice kept a wartime secret to protect the innocent. Now, could telling it set her free? Tuscany, 1943. Stranded in war-ravaged Italy, Beatrice’s dream of an escapist year teaching English is shattered. Granted shelter at the Villa delle Colombe, she seeks refuge in Francesca and Edoardo’s beautiful walled garden, hidden from the outside world, with an elaborate cypress maze at its heart. But Beatrice is not the only one seeking an escape here. Francesca has brought children to the safety of the house, as well as other adults, all of them seeking sanctuary on the estate with its mysterious maze. As the war closes in, the residents are forced to witness—and do—unthinkable things… 2015. Tess arrives at the villa raw from the agonising loss of her husband. Beatrice, now custodian, guides her to the solace of its gardens, where Tess begins to heal. But all hope of peace is shattered by the arrival of Marco, the estate’s absent owner, who wants nothing more than to hand it over to developers. Distraught, Beatrice realises she must finally reveal the villa’s painful past if she wants to save it. As the extraordinary story unfolds, Tess realises that Villa delle Colombe is not just a refuge, but a beacon of hope in the darkest of times. Can she convince Marco to give it a new lease of life—and find a way back to happiness herself?Trade Review“A poignant, luminous tale.” —Woman's Own “Valpy’s writing is beautiful, and she makes this villa, with its spectacular garden and, especially, the cypress maze at the heart of it, come to life.” —Historical Novels Review

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Book SynopsisA fascinating study of one of the often overlooked World War II campaigns as British/Commonwealth, Indigenous and Italian forces battled for control of the Horn of Africa. In mid-1940, Italy's East African colonies posed a significant threat to the British Empire, and in particular to the flow of supplies through the Red Sea to Egypt. British High Command feared moves from Italian East Africa and so sent reinforcements to its positions in Kenya and Sudan. Thus began a series of clashes across East Africa, with the British attempting to keep the Italians isolated and unable to threaten British supply lines. In March 1941, British theatre commander General Archibald Wavell opted for a lightning campaign to eliminate the Italian threat for good. Italian military historian Pier Paolo Battistelli provides a fresh account of this campaign, from the initial Italian attacks to the Allied counter-offensive into Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. Among the action

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Book SynopsisMeticulously researched, this book examines the evidence for the post-Roman military forces of France and Britain during the ''Dark Ages'', reconstructing their way of life and the battles they fought in compelling detail.The collapse of the former Western Roman Empire during the so called ''Dark Ages'' c. AD 410 was gradual and piecemeal. Out of this vacuum arose regional tribes and leaders determined to take back kingdoms that were theirs and oust any Roman presence for good. However, the Roman guard was tenacious and survived in small pockets that emerged in both Gaul and Britain. These areas of Romano-Celtic resistance held out against the Saxons until at least the mid 6th century in Britain and against the Visigoths and the Merovingian Franks until the late 8th century in France.Drawing on archaeological finds, contemporary sculpture and manuscript illuminations, Dr Raffaele D'Amato presents contemporary evidence for 5th to 9th-century Gallic and British ''Dark Age'' armiesTrade ReviewOverall, a handy book, which wargamers will find particularly helpful. * The Balkan Wargamer *All in all for such a short book this is an insightful look at the history of the military forces, weapons, artefacts, personalities and warfare techniques of this period. * Army Rumour Service *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION Sub-Roman and post-Roman - Sources SELECT CHRONOLOGY POST-ROMAN GAUL Historical background: the Patricii - Armorica - The Arborychi - Southern Gaul Military organization - Armies of the Patricii - Armorica and Brittany - Post-Roman enclaves and cities POST-ROMAN BRITAIN Historical background: the warlords - Ambrosius - Arthur Kingdoms - Bryneichn - Reghed and Cumbria - Elmet - Gododdin - Strathclyde - Gwynedd, Dyfed and Powys - Dumnonia - Other Romano-British enclaves Military organization - Warlord armies - Romano-British kingdoms - Teulu, Gosgordd and Nifer - Size of armies EQUIPMENT, ARMS & CLOTHING Gallo-Roman Patricii armies - Helmets - Body armour - Weapons - Other equipment - Military dress - Germanic equipment Brittany and Armorica - Helmets - Armour and shields - Weapons - Horse equipment - Military dress British warlord armies - Helmets - Body armour - Shields - Military belts - Weapons: Spears - Swords - Daggers and knives - Axes Cavalry warfare and equipment - Standards Post-Roman kingdoms - Helmets - Armour - Shields - Weapons - Cavalry warfare - Military dress SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisWith the United States producing almost 90,000 AFVs during World War II, American tanks made up the bulk of those deployed by the western Allies, and were even supplied through the lend-lease scheme to the Soviet army on the Eastern Front. American Tanks of World War II explores the tanks, self-propelled guns, halftracks and armoured cars deployed by American forces, from the Torch landings in Algeria to the hard fighting in Normandy and the bitter Ardennes offensive. Organised chronologically by type, the entries include the M3 Stuart, the first American-crewed tank to engage the enemy in tank combat in the war; the ubiquitous M4 Sherman, which proved cheap and reliable and was built in great numbers and in many variants; the M22 Locust light tank, designed to be air-dropped in support of airborne units; and the M26 Pershing, a heavy tank that arrived late in the war and was capable of beating the best tanks Germany had to offer. There are also chapters on the many motor gun carriages used by US forces, including the M8 HMC and T12 halftrack, both designed to provide close support for infantry. Illustrated with expert colour profile artworks for each entry and completed with technical specifications, American Tanks of World War II is a detailed reference guide for modellers and enthusiasts with an interest in World War II AFV technology.Table of ContentsContents includes: Introduction Light Tanks Marmon-Herrington CTLS-4TA T1 ‘Cunningham’ M2 Light Tank M3 Stuart Light Tank M3A1 Satan M5 Stuart M22 Locust M24 Chaffee Canal Defence Light (CDL) Medium Tanks M2 series M3 Lee-Grant M4 Sherman – M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4, M4A5, and M4A6 Sherman Crocodile USMC Improvised M4A2 Flail Tank Assault Tank M4A3E2 Jumbo M7 (T7 Project) T23 Prototype Heavy Tanks M6 Heavy Tank Heavy Tank M6A2E1 T14 Heavy Tank M26 Pershing T26E4 ‘Super Pershing’ Tank Destroyers and Assault Guns M18 Hellcat M10 GMC Wolverine M36 GMC Jackson Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 Priest Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 Halftracks and Armoured Cars M2 Halftrack T28E1 AA variant M3 Halftrack T30 75mm (2.95in) HMC (Howitzer Motor Carriage) T12 75mm (2.95in) HMC (Howitzer Motor Carriage) M13 AA adaption M16 AA adaption M1 armoured car M8 Greyhound armoured car M3 Scout Car Amphibious Landing Vehicles LVT-1 Alligator LVT-2 Water Buffalo LVT-3 Bushmaster LVT-4 Water Buffalo LVT(A)-1 GMC DUKW Glossary and Abbreviations Index

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Book SynopsisIllustrated with detailed artworks of World War II-era German aircraft and their markings with exhaustive captions and specifications, Luftwaffe Squadrons 1939–45: Identification Guide is the definitive study of the equipment and organisation of the Luftwaffe’s combat units. Organised by theatre of operations and the many campaigns fought by the Luftwaffe, the book describes in depth the various units that were fighting on the front at key points in the war and describes the models of aircraft in service with each unit along with their individual and squadron markings. With information boxes accompanying the full-colour artworks, Luftwaffe Squadrons 1939–45 is an essential reference guide for modellers and any enthusiast with an interest in the aircraft of the German war machine.Table of ContentsThe Early Years: First Battles Mediterranean Theatre War on the Eastern Front Maritime Operations The Defence of the Reich The Final Months Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThis engrossing book pits the legionaries of Imperial Rome against their Germanic and Sarmatian opponents in the 2nd century AD.Shortly after Marcus Aurelius came to power in AD 161, the Roman Empire was racked by a series of military crises. While unrest in Britain and a new war with Parthia were swiftly dealt with, the invasion of Roman territory by the Chatti and Chauci peoples heralded a resurgent threat from the empire's European neighbours. Soon the Marcomanni and the Quadi, as well as the Dacians and the Sarmatian Iazyges, would attack the Romans in a series of savage conflicts that continued until AD 175 and would see the first invasion of Roman Italy since the beginning of the 1st century BC.In this book, the two sides' objectives, weapons and equipment and fighting styles are assessed and compared in the context of three featured battles: Carnuntum (170), where a Roman legion was vanquished and Italy invaded; the Battle on the Ice' (172), where the RTable of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Carnuntum, AD 170 The Battle on the Ice, AD 172 The Miracle of the Rain, AD 174 Analysis Aftermath Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFully illustrated, this is the second volume in a detailed study of the German auxiliary troops who fought for Britain in the American Revolutionary War. During the American Revolutionary War (177583), German auxiliary troops provided a vital element of the British war effort. While the largest body of German troops was from Hessen-Cassel (see the first volume of this study), the British also fielded troops from Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Hessen-Hanau, Waldeck and Pyrmont, Brandenburg Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, and Anhalt-Zerbst. This volume also covers the Hanoverian soldiers involved in the sieges of Gibraltar and Menorca.Fighting on a host of battlefields from Saratoga to Yorktown, these hired soldiers provided the Crown Forces with much-needed manpower and contributed crucial combat skills in the form of the Jäger, renowned specialists in open-order warfare. Featuring eight specially commissioned artwork plates and an array of carefully chosTable of Contents(Subject to confirmation) Introduction Chronology Braunschweig troops Waldeck troops Hessen-Hanau troops Ansbach-Bayreuth troops Anhalt-Zerbst troops Further reading Plate commentaries Index

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Book SynopsisThe history of how the Luftwaffe planned to knock out Holland in a surgical, lightning campaign, but instead suffered wounds against the outnumbered but effective Dutch that would come to haunt them in the Battle of Britain.From the perspective of the German High Command, its invasion of the Netherlands on May 10, 1940 was supposed to be a lightning fast surgical strike, aimed at shoring up the right flank of the Wehrmacht''s massive assault on France and Belgium. In a bold manoeuvre, the German Luftwaffe would launch what was at the time the largest airborne operation in history, calculating that surprise and speed would negate the need for a lengthy ground campaign or large numbers of ground troops, using paratroops and air-landing troops to capture key strategic point that would clear the path for the subsequent capitulation of main Dutch city and the government itself. The entire operation was expected to take only 24 hours. The actual campaign proved to be much lTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION The Dutch defences Fallschirmjäger and Luftlande troops ATTACKER’S CAPABILITIES Luftflotte 2 in the Holland operation Fighter cover for airborne operations Strike capabilities The transports ORDER OF BATTLE – 10 MAY 1940 DEFENDER’S CAPABILITIES The Dutch defences Dutch military aircraft in the 1930s War looms ORDER OF BATTLE – 10 MAY 1940 CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES Unternehmen F THE CAMPAIGN Five costly days Operations on 10 May 1940 Operations from 11 to 14 May 1940 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisA gripping and detailed study of the brutal urban battle for Budapest, which saw German and Hungarian troops struggling to halt the joint Soviet-Romanian offensive to take the key city on the Danube.The 52-day-long siege of Budapest witnessed some of the most destructive urban fighting of the war. The Transdanubia region was strategically vital to Nazi Germany for its raw materials and industry, and because of the bridgehead it allowed into Austria. As a result, Hitler declared Budapest a fortress city in early December 1944.The battle for the city pitted 90,000 German and Hungarian troops against 170,000 Soviet (2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts) and Romanian attackers. The operations to take the city ran across several phases, from the initial Soviet approach to Budapest commencing in late October 1944, through the encirclement of city first on the Pest side of the Danube, and then on the Buda bank, and on to the savage urban fighting that began in December 1944 Trade ReviewA fascinating addition to the Osprey Campaign series that meticulously details a little-known battle. * Classic Military Vehicle Magazine *Table of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING COMMANDERS Axis Soviet and Romanian OPPOSING FORCES Axis Soviet and Romanian Orders of battle OPPOSING PLANS Axis Soviet and Romanian THE SIEGE OF BUDAPEST The first Soviet attack: 29 October–6 November 1944 Budapest surrounded: 11 November–24 December 1944 Taking Pest: 24 December 1944–18 January 1945 German relief operations: Konrad I–III Buda: 19 January–10 February 1945 Breakout: 11–13 February 1945 AFTERMATH THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe appearance of Roman soldiers in the 3rd century AD has long been a matter of debate and uncertainty, largely thanks to the collapse of central control and perpetual civil war between the assassination of Severus Alexander in 235 and the accession of the great Diocletian in 284. During those years no fewer than 51 men were proclaimed as emperors, some lasting only a few days. Despite this apparent chaos, however, the garrisons of the Western Provinces held together, by means of localized organization and the recruitment of ''barbarians'' to fill the ranks. They still constituted an army in being when Diocletian took over and began the widespread reforms that rebuilt the Empire though an Empire that their forefathers would hardly have recognized. Fully illustrated with specially chosen colour plates, this book reveals the uniforms, equipment and deployments of Roman soldiers in the most chaotic years of the Empire.Table of ContentsIntroduction: the collapse of unity between 235 and 285 AD. * Chronology. * Military organization of the Western Provinces. * Distribution of the army in the West, from the Severans to Diocletian: legiones, auxilia and numeri . * The garrison of Rome. * Evidence for arms, armour, equipment and clothing, province by province: Aquitania, Belgica, Britannia, Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Narbonensis, Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, Raetia, Noricum, Pannonia, Dlmatia, Tarraconensis, Baetica, Lusitania, Africa Procunsularis, Mauretania Tingitana, Mauretania Cesriensis, the Alpes, Italica, Sicilia, Sardinia and Corsica. * Select Bibliography. * Plate commentaries

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Book SynopsisThe first in a new in-depth nonfiction series examining the devastating terrorist attacks that changed the course of history from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr and Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott, beginning with the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut. 1983: the United States Marine Corps experiences its greatest single-day loss of life since the Battle of Iwo Jima, when a truck packed with explosives crashes into their headquarters and barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. This horrifying terrorist attack, which killed 241 servicemen, continues to influence US foreign policy and haunts the Marine Corps to this day. Now, the full story is revealed as never before by Jack Carr and historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott. Based on comprehensive interviews with survivors, extensive military records, as well as personal letters, diaries and photographs, this is the authoritative account of the deadly attack. <

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Book SynopsisA fascinating analysis of the World War II battle between Great Britain and France to ensure French ships were kept out of German hands during World War II. Following France''s armistice with the Axis powers, Great Britain realized that if Germany or Italy insisted upon the transfer of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers from the French Navy to the control of their own navies, the balance in the Mediterranean would immediately swing in their favour. Churchill decided that the Marine Nationale''s most powerful vessels would need to be secured through diplomacy, coercion, or force. The French Navy commander-in-chief was equally eager to keep their ships out of Axis hands, but he also did not want the British to have them. These increasingly hostile circumstances led to Operation Catapult, which began on 3 July 1940, and saw the two nations battle for the ships. Expert naval historian Ryan Noppen analyses the Royal Navy Operation Catapult at Mers

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Book SynopsisDrawing on IWM's unique collection, Winston Churchill showcases 50 iconic images of Britain's wartime prime minister.

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Book SynopsisAn illustration-packed new account of the powerful Royal Navy fleet that fought alongside the US Navy throughout the last year of the Pacific War.The British Pacific Fleet was the Royal Navy''s primary contribution to the direct defeat of Japan in 1945, and is among the most powerful fleets Britain has ever sent into action. With naval supremacy in home waters achieved by 1944, many of the best and most modern ships in the Royal Navy could be sent to the Pacific, including battleships, submarines, light forces, replenishment groups, and shore establishment. However, the main striking force was the fast carrier force.Illustrated throughout with dramatic new artwork, 3D diagrams, maps and archive photos, this book explains how the Royal Navy joined the Pacific carrier war, and how the fleet adopted the US Navy''s ruthlessly effective fast carrier doctrine. With ships optimized for short-range operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the BPF had to rapidly adapt to the long-raTable of Contents(Subject to Confirmation) THE FLEET'S PURPOSE FLEET FIGHTING POWER The Ships Technical Factors HOW THE FLEET OPERATED Doctrine, Command, and Communication Intelligence and Deception Logistics and Facilities COMBAT AND ANALYSIS The Fleet in Combat Analysis FURTHER READING

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Book SynopsisThis is a different kind of World War II story, the story of the 15,000 immigrants and refugees who used their native language skills and knowledge of their home countries to help America to victory in World War II. Beverley Driver Eddy tells their story thoroughly and colorfully, drawing heavily on interviews with surviving Ritchie Boys.

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated account of how the Roman legions crossed the sea to conquer Britannia in AD 43.For the Romans, Britannia lay beyond the comfortable confines of the Mediterranean world around which classical civilization had flourished. Britannia was felt to be at the outermost edge of the world itself, lending the island an air of dangerous mystique.To the soldiers crossing the Oceanus Britannicus in the late summer of AD 43, the prospect of invading an island believed to be on its periphery must have meant a mixture of panic and promise. These men were part of a formidable army of four veteran legions (II Augusta, VIIII Hispana, XIIII Gemina, XX Valeria), which had been assembled under the overall command of Aulus Plautius Silvanus. Under him were, significantly, first-rate legionary commanders, including the future emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus. With the auxiliary units, the total invasion force probably amounted to arounTrade ReviewBritannia AD 43 is lavishly illustrated and gives a detailed analysis of the opposing commanders and armies. -- Harvey Watson * Battlefield *Table of ContentsOrigins of the Campaign Chronology Opposing Commanders Opposing Forces Opposing Plans The Campaign Aftermath Glossary and Abbreviations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn illustrated account of the first jet-powered combat aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 262, and its short but action-packed career during World War 2.Powered by the Jumo 004 jet engine, the Me 262 outclassed anything the Allies had in terms of speed and firepower, offering, as an interceptor, a formidable punch with four 30 mm MK 108 nose-mounted cannon. Such a blend of armament and speed allowed the Me 262A-1a not just to inflict carnage on the Allied heavy bomber formations, but also to evade their fighter escorts even the later marks of Spitfire and the formidable American P-51 Mustang.In this new study, Luftwaffe historian Robert Forsyth utilises first-hand accounts from Me 262 pilots to chronicle actions against Allied bombers and their escorts, as well as detailing hit-and-run bomber attacks on road junctions, Allied airfields, vehicle columns, troop assemblies and supply dumps. All of these aspects of the Me 262 are enhanced by vivid illustration

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive and detailed illustrated examination of the development and combat performance of US battle tanks from the end of World War II through to the present day.In this, the second of two highly illustrated volumes telling the full history of the design, development and operational use of US Army and US Marine Corps battle tanks, Steven J. Zaloga draws and expands on material published in Osprey's New Vanguard and Duel series to explain how the US Army attempted to come to grips with the challenges of the nuclear battlefield, as well as the introduction of new tank designs such as the famous Patton tank series. He also covers the short-lived attempts to develop more radical tanks such as the T95 as well as the overly ambitious and failed MBT-70 tank program and the more austere M1 Abrams that followed a tank that proved to be the best US tank design of the post-World War II period and is still in service today.Packed with dozens of intricate color pr

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Book SynopsisA study of the Soviet and NATO armored forces that faced each other off in Central Europe in the early Cold War, and how their technology, tactics, and doctrine were all rapidly developed.For 45 years, the most disputed point in the World was the dividing line between East and West in Europe; here the use and development of tanks was key. In this fully illustrated study, author Steve Zaloga, describes how Soviet and NATO tanks were deployed in the early years of the Cold War, and how a generation of tanks such as the Soviet T-44/T-54 and IS-3, British Centurion, US Army M26/M46 Pershing (all developed during World War II) saw extensive service after the war had ended. Initial post-war generation tanks including the Soviet T-54A, T-10 heavy tank, British late-model Centurions, Conqueror, US Army M41, M47, M48 and the French AMX-13 are examined in detail alongside the most important technical trends of the era: the development of shaped-charge anti-tank projectiles, theTable of ContentsIntroduction The tanks, doctrine, and organization Tanks in battle Technical analysis Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a fascinating exploration of the Japanese conquest of Burma, as the Allied forces were forced back in disarray to India and China.The Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942 marked the beginning of the single longest campaign of World War II. In the Burmese jungles, the battle-hardened, highly trained and lightly equipped Imperial Japanese Army quickly proved itself a vastly superior fighting force in clashes against the British, Indian and Gurkha troops that formed Burma Army and Chinese nationalist forces deployed in eastern Burma. This superbly illustrated book narrates Burma Corps' epic fighting retreat northwards, carried out mostly in contact with the enemy and across hundreds of miles of highly malarial and extremely difficult terrain, to safety in India. Among the battles covered are the disaster at the Sittang Bridge on 22 February 1942 (where 17th Indian Division was all but destroyed), the fall of Rangoon in March 1942 and the clashes at YenangyaTrade Reviewan informative and engaging account of what came to be known as ‘The British Army’s longest retrea -- Chris Jarvis * Miniature Wargames *an informative and engaging account of what came to be known as ‘The British Army’s longest retreat’ -- Chris Jarvis * Miniature Wargames *As ever, there are plenty of archive photos throughout the book, along with good clear maps and a number of 3D Battlefield views that help explain the various actions detailed in the book. * Military Model Scene *Table of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN CHRONOLOGY ALLIED COMMANDERS AND FORCES British, Indian and Burmese Chinese JAPANESE COMMANDERS AND FORCES Orders of Battle THE CAMPAIGN Opening rounds: from Kawkareik to the Bilin River The Battle of the Sittang Bridge The Fall of Rangoon and the Taukkyan roadblock The battle for central Buram: Prome, Toungoo and Yenangyaung The final Allied withdrawal from Burma ASSESSMENT THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisA new history of the most crucial few months of the Arctic Convoys, when Germany''s air power forced the Allies to retreat to the cover of winter. Between spring and autumn 1942, Germany was winning the battle of the Arctic Convoys. Half of PQ-15 was sunk in May, PQ-17 was virtually obliterated in July, and in September 30 percent of PQ-18 was sunk. The Allies were forced to suspend the convoys until December, when the long Arctic nights would shield them.Mark Lardas argues that in 1942, it was Luftwaffe air power that made the difference. With convoys sailing in endless daylight, German strike aircraft now equipped and trained for torpedo attacks, and bases in northern Norway available, the Luftwaffe could wreak havoc. Three-quarters of the losses of PQ-18 were due to air attacks. But in November, the Luftwaffe was redeployed south to challenge the Allied landings in North Africa, and the advantage was lost. Despite that, the Allies never again sailed Trade ReviewHis analysis of the actions and the strategic background is both perceptive and persuasive, and his enthusiasm for the subject is apparent. * The Naval Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Attacker's Capabilities Defender's Capabilities Campaign Objectives The Campaign Aftermath and Analysis Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis**The New York Times Bestseller****The book of the landmark documentary, The Vietnam War, by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick**The definitive work on the Vietnam War, the conflict that came to define a generation, told from all sides by those who were there.More than forty years after the Vietnam War ended, its legacy continues to fascinate, horrify and inform us. As the first war to be fought in front of TV cameras and beamed around the world, it has been immortalised on film and on the page, and forever changed the way we think about war.Drawing on hundreds of brand new interviews, Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward have created the definitive work on Vietnam. It is the first book to show us the war from every perspective: from idealistic US Marines and the families they left behind to the Vietnamese civilians, both North and South, whose homeland was changed for ever; politicians, POWs and anti-war protesters; and the photographers and journalists who risked their lives to tell the truth. The book sends us into the grit and chaos of combat, while also expertly outlining the complex chain of political events that led America to Vietnam.Beautifully written, this essential work tells the full story without taking sides and reminds us that there is no single truth in war. It is set to redefine our understanding of a brutal conflict, to launch provocative new debates and to shed fresh light on the price paid in ‘blood and bone’ by Vietnamese and Americans alike.Trade ReviewStunning ... the best single-volume history of the war -- Mark Bowden, bestselling author of BLACK HAWK DOWNA vivid and often captivating volume … a valuable resource -- David Greenberg * New York Times Book Review *Ward and Burns take a vast topic and personalize it … an outstanding, indispensable survey of the Vietnam War * Kirkus *Vivid, affecting, definitive * Booklist *Exquisitely written * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisIntends to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy.Trade Review"Undoubtedly one of the most useful books ever written."--The New Republic

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