Military History Books

Book Synopsis*As featured in the landmark BBC2 documentary Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story*Published to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Falklands war'There was a time when we did extraordinary things.' On 28 May 1982, 450 men of the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment - 2 Para - went into action to retake the settlement of Goose Green on East Falkland, where more than 1,000 Argentine soldiers were holding 119 Falkland Islanders - men, women, children and one baby - in squalid conditions. Forty years on, Goose Green is still the biggest and bloodiest battle the British Army has fought in modern times. This book is the living narrative of the battle told by the very men who fought it; not just the soldiers of 2 Para, but also the SAS, the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy, and others, in more than a hundred exclusive and untold personal accounts.Some are extremely funny, some touching, and some heart-breaking. All were recorded face to face, the speakers' own words adding a gritty authenticity to each account and conveying the confusion and terror of battle, as well as the courage and selflessness of men in action. Goose Green is a book that goes beyond the official histories and the many memoirs to bring to life the first and, as it turned out, the decisive battle of this country's outstanding campaign to retake the Falkland Islands from a foreign invader. This is a true story of a great victory against all the odds, told by the men who fought it.

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Book SynopsisThe great host came steadily on, spreading out spreading out - spreading out till they seemed like a giant pair of nut-crackers opening round the little nut of Rorke's Drift. - Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds V.C., Army Medical Department On 22 January 1879, during the final hour of the Battle of iSandlwana - one of the greatest disasters ever to befall British troops during the Victorian era - a very different story was about to unfold a few miles away at the mission station of Rorke's Drift. When a Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors turned their attention to the small outpost, defended by around 150 British and Imperial troops, the odds of the British surviving were staggeringly low. The British victory that ensued, therefore, would go down as one of the most heroic actions of all time, and has enraptured military history enthusiasts for decades. Featuring a wide range of first-hand accounts and testimonies from those present during the Battle of Rorke's Drift, Rorke's Drift By Those Who Were There is a remarkable work of Anglo-Zulu military history by those who know the topic best, Lee Stevenson and Ian Knight. This updated edition of the classic work of the same name includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides. Providing personal, microscopic accounts of events, while at the same time presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety, readers will gain an impressive, unique breadth of knowledge about one of the most awe-inspiring battles in British history.

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Book SynopsisThe first detailed explanation of development for this vital night-fighter equipmentThe author has much professional experience in radar developmentNight-fighter squadrons are now valued as an important factor in the Allied defeat of the Luftwaffe in WWIINight-fighters are popular with aviation and WWII enthusiasts/historians

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Book SynopsisThis illustrated history explores the cruiser forces of the Italian and British Royal navies, the jack-of-all trades warships of the Mediterranean Naval War.In 1940, when Italy entered World War II, the Royal Navy was badly overstretched, and its Mediterranean Fleet had to face both the Italian Navy and the German and Italian Air Forces in a battle for supremacy. Although the British and Italian battle fleets squared off against each other, they were both often held in reserve, in case the enemy fleet put to sea. So, it was left to the cruisers to wage their own naval war in the Mediterranean. This involved a range of missions, from escorting convoys and hunting enemy ones, to fighting for control of the sea around key locations such as the waters off Malta and Crete. This superbly illustrated study, written by renowned naval expert Angus Konstam, compares and contrasts the design, weapon technologies and combat performance of the opposing cruiser forces. It also documents severTable of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Combatants The Strategic Situation Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe author recounts his, and Hitler's, journey to the front line.

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Book SynopsisThe first detailed and comprehensive record of the warship losses of the last 100 years. Much original research from primary sources. Indexes and cross referencing make for highly usable reference work.

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Book SynopsisBetween 1942 and 1944 a very small, very secret, very successful clandestine unit of the Royal Navy, operated between Dartmouth in Devon, and the Brittany Coast in France. It was a crossing of about 100 miles, every yard of it dangerous. The unit was called the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla: crewed by 125 officers and men, it became the most highly decorated Royal Naval unit of the Second World War.The 15th MGBF was an extraordinary group of men thrown together in the most secret of adventures. Very few were regular Royal Naval officers: instead the unit was made up of mostly Royal Naval Volunteer Officers and 'duration only' sailors. Their home was a converted paddle steamer and luxury yacht, but their work could not have been more serious. Their mission was to ferry agents of SIS and SOE to pinpoint landing sites on the Brittany coast in Occupied France. Once they had landed their agents, together with stores for the Resistance, they picked up evaders, escaped POWs who had had the good fortune to be collected by escape lines run by M19, as well as returning SIS and SOE agents.It is a story that is inextricably entwined with that of the many agents they were responsible for - Pierre Hentic, Yves Le Tac, Virginia Hall, Albert Hué, Jeannie Rousseau, Suzanne Warengham, François Mitterrand and Mathilde Carré, as well as many others. Without the Flotilla, such intelligence gathering networks as Jade Fitzroy and Alliance would never have developed, and SOE's VAR Line and MI9's Shelburne Escape Line would never have been realised. Drawing on a huge amount of research on both sides of the Channel, including private archives of many of the families involved, A Dangerous Enterprise brings the story of this most clandestine of operations brilliantly to life.

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of Towton

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Book SynopsisThey are two of twentieth-century history's most significant figures, yet today they are largely forgotten - Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, Germany's First World War leaders. Although defeat in 1918 brought an end to their 'silent dictatorship', both generals played a key role in the turbulent politics of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis. Alexander Clifford, in this perceptive reassessment of their political careers, questions the popular image of these generals in the English-speaking world as honourable 'Good Germans'. For they were intensely political men, whose ideas and actions shaped the new Germany and ultimately led to Hitler's dictatorship. Their poisonous wartime legacy was the infamous stab-in-the-back myth. According to the generals, the true cause of the disastrous defeat in the First World War was the betrayal of the army by politicians, leftists and Jews on the home front. This toxic conspiracy theory polluted Weimar politics and has been labelled the beginning of 'the twisted road to Auschwitz'. Hindenburg and Ludendorff's political fortunes after the war were markedly different. Ludendorff inhabited the far-right fringes and engaged in plots, assassinations and conspiracies, playing a leading role in failed uprisings such as Hitler's 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Meanwhile Hindenburg was a vastly more successful politician, winning two presidential elections and serving as head of state for nine years. Arguably he bore even more responsibility for the destruction of democracy, for he and the nationalist right he led sought, through Hitler, to remould the Weimar system towards authoritarianism.

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Book Synopsis‘Catapults you into the heart of the most epic experiences of ejection, escape and survival’ Andy McNab ‘I thought the ejection seat was a rather dangerous, somewhat curious contraption. But that I would never need it . . .’ When Jo Lancaster, the first British pilot to eject in an emergency, triggered his ejection seat in 1949, it took thirty seconds before he was safely away from the aircraft and under his parachute. Since those first post-Second World War ejections, many tens of thousands of lives have been saved by increasingly sophisticated escape systems. When John Nichol’s Tornado was blasted out of the sky during the 1991 Gulf War, a mere 2.5 seconds elapsed between pulling the ejection handle and his parachute opening. Today, the newest seats can automatically initiate ejection if the system decides the pilot faces mortal danger and cannot react quickly enough. Now, Nichol tells the incredibleTrade ReviewA fascinating history. Given his extraordinary personal experience, skills & knowledge, Eject! Eject! is clearly a book that Nichol and Nichol alone was destined to write. Five stars * Daily Telegraph *'An absolutely brilliant, brilliant read. Fascinating history and enthralling stories. An absolute corker' -- Jeremy Vine‘Catapults you into the heart of the most epic experiences of ejection, escape and survival’ -- Andy McNab'The story of the ejection seat’s birth and development revealed by John Nichol, is one of genius, bravery and baffling eccentricity, containing thrilling, gripping and dramatic stories of survival' * Daily Express *'Some of the stories are incredible, making for an action packed book' * The Armourer *

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Book SynopsisThe Korean War of 1950-1953 ended in a frustrating stalemate, the echoes of which reverberate to this day. It was the only conflict of the Cold War in which forces of major nations of the two opposing systems - capitalism and communism - confronted each other on the battlefield. And yet, in the sixty years since it was fought it has...

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Book SynopsisThe Atlas of World War II traces the course of the conflict chronologically by showing each major campaign as a full-color map, further illustrated by archive action pictures. Skillfully bringing to life the human experience of war with eyewitness accounts of the struggle, this book presents the political and strategic conditions that led to the war, offering a unique insight into military operations and tactics. World War II remains a topic of fascination and study, and this book is an ideal addition to the shelves of all interested readers.

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive look at World War II-era Fubuki class destroyers, giving readers an understanding of why and how the Imperial Japanese Navy took the lead in destroyer design

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Book SynopsisIn the much-anticipated conclusion to his masterful trilogy chronicling the wartime career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, renowned military and political biographer Nigel Hamilton aligns triumph with tragedy to show how FDR was the architect of a victorious peace that he would not live to witness. Providing the definitive account of the events in Normandy on 6 June 1944, Hamilton also reveals the fraught nature of the relationship between the greatest wartime leaders of the Allied forces. Using hitherto unpublished documents and interviews to counter the famous narrative of World War II strategy given by Winston Churchill in his memoirs, Hamilton highlights the true significance of FDR’s leadership. Seventy-five years after the D-Day landings, we finally see, close up and in dramatic detail, who was responsible for rescuing – and insisting upon – the great American-led invasion of France in June 1944, and exactly why that invasion was orchestrated by Eisenhower. War and Peace is the rousing final installment in one of the most important historical biographies of the twenty-first century, which demonstrates how FDR’s failing health only spurred him on in his efforts to build a US-backed post-war world order. In this stirring account of the life of one of the most celebrated political leaders of our time, Hamilton hails the President as the sole person capable of anticipating the requirements of peace in order to bring an end to the war.

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Book SynopsisEver since its introduction in the late 1950s, the B-52 Stratofortress has been the United States' primary heavy bomber and a powerful symbol of its immense military might. Its powerful electronic countermeasures equipment (ECM) was thought to make the B-52 immune to ground-to-air missile attack, but in Vietnam, and later conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm in 1991, it came up against the Soviet-designed SA-2 SAM which used heavy salvoes of missiles to bring down the bombers.The losses of several of its most feared, powerful and supposedly invincible bombers per night to a torrent of Soviet missiles during the closing stages of the Vietnam War was sobering to Americans, but the B-52s' crushing attacks virtually eliminated North Vietnam's defences and forced a peace settlement. This fascinating book analyses the roles of the SA-2 operators and the B-52 Electronic Warfare Officers (EWOs) using specially commissioned artwork as well as first-hand accounts, and traceTable of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology/ Design and Development /Technical Specifications /The Strategic Situation /The Combatants /Combat /Statistics and Analysis /Aftermath /Further Reading /Index

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Book SynopsisThis study explores the organization, history and uniforms of the Soviet Red Army during the 20 years between its victory in the Civil War and the invasion of the USSR by Germany in 1941. The two decades following the Bolshevik victory over the ''Whites'' in the Russian Civil War saw widespread and fundamental developments for the Red Army. Nevertheless, these still left it largely unready to face Germany''s Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Having been reduced in size and planning for modernization, the Red Army of the 1920s was employed to ruthlessly crush anti-Bolshevik opposition (real or suspected) in several regions of the USSR, notably Ukraine and Central Asia, and to fight a brief border war against Chinese Manchuria. During the 1930s, Stalin virtually ''beheaded'' the army by a needless series of murderous purges of the officer class; despite this, the Red Army was victorious in clashes against Imperial Japan in the Nomonhan region in 193839, Trade ReviewIt is a very well laid out book in the series, that for a modeller would be a focal point for colour schemes and layout, and also for anybody researching or having an interest in this rather stark period of history. -- Susan Wilson * Army Rumour Service *Ideal for figure modellers and wargamers for painting references * Military Model Scene *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION THE RED ARMY IN THE 1920s Strength Clandestine contacts with Germany The role of political commissars CAMPAIGNS IN THE 1920s Anti-Basmachi campaigns, 1920s–30s The Sino–Soviet War, 1929 The ‘secret invasion’ of Afghanistan, 1929 THE RED ARMY IN THE 1930s Expansion and re-equipment Cossacks in the Red Army 1936–41 Formation of armoured units, 1922–41 Soviet security forces, 1922–41 Stalin’s purges, 1934–41 CAMPAIGNS IN THE 1930s Far Eastern border clashes: Changkufeng, 1938, and Khalkin Gol, 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, September 1939 The Russo–Finnish ‘Winter War’, 1939–40 The Red Army in 1941 UNIFORMS, 1922–41 Headgear Helmets Field and service uniforms Legwear and footwear Greatcoats and protective clothing Rank and insignia Branch colours Branch insignia SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY PLATE COMMENTARIES INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe closest thing to total war before World War One, the Seven Years' War was fought in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India with major consequences for all parties involved. This fascinating book is the first to truly review the grand strategies of the combatants and examine the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. These ranged from the large-scale battles and sieges of the European front to the ambush and skirmish tactics used in the forests of North America. Daniel Marston's engaging narrative is supported by official war papers, personal diaries and memoirs, and official reports.Table of ContentsIntroduction and chronology; Background to war; Warring sides; Outbreak; The fighting; Portrait of a soldier; The world around war; Portrait of a civilian; How the war ended; Conclusion and consequences

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Book SynopsisThe most powerful story in stamp history, revealing the little icons at the heart of wartime propaganda

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Book SynopsisWaged across an inhospitable terrain which varied from open African savannah to broken mountain country and arid semi-desert, the Anglo-Boer wars of 188081 and 18991902 pitted the British Army and its allies against the Boers'' commandos.The nature of warfare across these campaigns was shaped by the realities of the terrain and by Boer fighting techniques. Independent and individualistic, the Boers were not professional soldiers but a civilian militia who were bound by the terms of the ''Commando system'' to come together to protect their community against an outside threat. By contrast the British Army was a full-time professional body with an established military ethos, but its over-dependence on conventional infantry tactics led to a string of Boer victories. This fully illustrated study examines the evolving nature of Boer military techniques, and contrasts them with the British experience, charting the development of effective British mounted tactics from the fi

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Book SynopsisHitler was one of the few politicians who understood that persuasion was everything, deployed to anchor an entire regime in the confections of imagery, rhetoric and dramaturgy. The Nazis pursued propaganda not just as a tool, an instrument of government, but also as the totality, the raison d'etre, the medium through which power itself was exercised. Moreover, Nicholas O'Shaughnessy argues, Hitler, not Goebbels, was the prime mover in the propaganda regime of the Third Reich - its editor and first author. Under the Reich everything was a propaganda medium, a building-block of public consciousness, from typography to communiques, to architecture, to weapons design. There were groups to initiate rumours and groups to spread graffiti. Everything could be interrogated for its propaganda potential, every surface inscribed with polemical meaning, whether an enemy city's name, an historical epic or the poster on a neighbourhood wall. But Hitler was in no sense an innovator - his ideas were always second- hand.Rather his expertise was as a packager, fashioning from the accumulated mass of icons and ideas, the historic debris, the labyrinths and byways of the German mind, a modern and brilliant political show articulated through deftly managed symbols and rituals. The Reich would have been unthinkable without propaganda - it would not have been the Reich.Trade Review'A fascinating work on how the Nazis "sold" Hitler to the German people and vice-versa, almost like a modern commercial brand.' * Evening Standard (Best Books of 2016) *'Illuminatingly treats the Third Reich's deployment of myths, symbols, and rhetoric with the eye and ear of a theorist keenly tuned to the subtle plays of power and desire within the manufacture of the "spiritual-religious idea" that is Nazism ... A fresh take on an area of scholarship dominated by historians, Selling Hitler teems with insight.' * Los Angeles Review of Books *'[A] fresh, surprising and important look at a neglected aspect of the history of Nazi Germany. […] O'Shaughnessy boldly deconstructs the Nazi propaganda machine and its vast output.' * Jewish Journal *

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of Britain was a fight for survival against a seemingly unstoppable foe. With the German army poised to invade, only the fighters of the Royal Air Force stood between Hitler and the conquest of Britain. Losses were high on both sides, but the Spitfires, Hurricanes, Havocs and Defiants of the RAF began to take their toll on the overextended, under-protected Kampfgruppen of Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 87s and 88s, and Dornier Do 17s. Both sides learned and adapted as the campaign went on. As the advantage began to shift from the Luftwaffe to the RAF, the Germans were forced to switch from round-the-clock bombing to only launching night-raids, often hitting civilian targets in the dreaded Blitz. This beautifully illustrated study dissects the tactics and technology of the duels in this new kind of war, bringing the reader into the cockpits of the RAF fighters and Luftwaffe bombers to show precisely where the Battle of Britain was won and lost.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Strategic Situation The Combatants Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisSpecializing in covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism and hostage rescue, the SAS is one of the world's most famous, feared and respected elite fighting forces.This book tells the full, fascinating story of the regiment, from formation in the sand dunes of Africa during World War II to present action in the Middle East, and incorporates jungle, desert and urban warfare, counter-terrorism and an insider's view at the selection and training methods employed by this usually secretive unit.Table of Contents1940s - Early History, WWII, disbanding • 1950s - Re-forming, Malaya, Oman • 1960s - Borneo, Aden • 1970s - Oman, Northern Ireland • 1980s - Falklands, Embassy Siege, Gibraltar, Gambia • 1990s - Gulf War, Central America • 2000s - Afghanistan, Iraq • 2010s - Modern Operations • 2020s - Selection, Training, After the regiment • Appendix - Organization, Chronology, Names of the Dead.

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Book SynopsisMuch has been written about the British army's campaigns during the many wars it fought in the eighteenth century, but for over 150 years no one has attempted to produce a history of the army as an institution during this period. That is why Stephen Conway's perceptive and detailed study is so timely and important. Taking into account the latest scholarship, he considers the army's legal status, political control and administration, its system of recruitment, the relationships between officers and men, and the social and economic as well as constitutional interactions of the army with British and other societies. Throughout the book a key theme is order and control. How did a small number of officers exercise authority over large numbers of common soldiers? Traditionally the answer has focused on the role of a draconian system of corporal and capital punishment - by extensive use of the lash and the rope. Yet no institution can function through fear alone and he shows that the obedience of its common soldiers had to be negotiated by their officers who were very aware of their men's sense of their entitlements, and their conception of military service as contractual. By uncovering the mental world of both officers and common soldiers, Stephen Conway offers a very different view of how the British army operated between the Hanoverian succession and the end of the War of American Independence. His work will be fascinating reading for all students of British military history.

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Book SynopsisIncoherent, obsessive and violent, Hitler's ideas nonetheless found an audience of millions and led to one of the most horrific and devastating conflicts of the 20th century. Taking two of Hitler's texts as his starting point, Neil Gregor discusses 'this second-rate mind of great power' and helps the reader to understand the nature and popular reception of Hitler's crude but hugely influential writings.

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Book SynopsisThe period covered in this book is one of the most famed and glorious for the British Army and the infantry were its backbone. Gabriele Esposito examines how the foot regiments were reformed and evolved to absorb the lessons of defeat in America and setbacks elsewhere to become the efficient and dependable bedrock of victory in the Napoleonic Wars. He details the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the infantry, along with their organization and tactics. Chapters are devoted to the Guards, the line regiments of foot, the Light Infantry and Rifles as well as Highland and Lowland Scots regiments. The author considers not only those units serving with Wellington in the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign, but all British infantry units, including those in Canada, the West Indies, India and elsewhere, not forgetting even the home defence Fencibles. Foreign units serving with the British army, most notably the King's German Legion, are also included. The work is lavishly illustrated with colour artwork.

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Book SynopsisAlongside the SAS, Harry's other lifetime love is cricket. An improvised game of cricket was often the circuit-breaker Harry and his team needed after the tension of operations. He began a tradition of organising matches wherever he was sent, whether it was in the mountains of East Timor with a fugitive rebel leader, or on the dusty streets of Baghdad, or in exposed Forward Operating Bases in the hills of Afghanistan. Soldiers, locals and even visiting politicians played in these spontaneous yet often bridge-building games.As part of the tradition, Harry also started to take a cricket bat with him on operational tours, eleven of them in total. They'd often go outside the wire with him and end up signed by those he met or fought alongside. These eleven bats form the basis for Harry's extraordinary memoir. It's a book about combat, and what it takes to serve in one of the world's most elite formations. It's a book about the toll that war takes on soldiers and their loved ones. And it's a book about the healing power of cricket, and how a game can break down borders in even the most desperate of circumstances.Trade ReviewA compelling soldier's story of combat, survival and backyard cricket in a war zone. Harry Moffitt's unforgotten wars make an unforgettable story. -- Jim MaxwellA superbly evocative story of cricket and war. It's not just cricket. And it's not just war. It's both, and it is compelling. -- Peter FitzSimons

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Book SynopsisChronicles the design, development, and wartime use of this famous American attack bomber.

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Book SynopsisThe History of the 101st Airborne Division is the epic story of the Division from its activation in August 1942 through the completion of Operation Desert Storm in April 1991. The Division’s progression through the sky took decades of hard work and tens of thousands of dedicated soldiers. In World War II, the 101st became the first American troops to set foot in occupied France, when, on 6 June 1944, its paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines, clearing the way for the 4th Infantry Division landing on Utah Beach. The Division would become famous for its work in Holland during Operation Market Garden, and for its successful defense of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. In Vietnam, the “Screaming Eagles” engaged in battle from 1965 to 1972, when they began their evolution to Air Mobile by deploying by helicopter. In the Gulf War, the Division fired the first shots of Operation Desert Storm by destroying Iraqi radar sites, and during ground war of the operation, they made the longest and largest air assault in history. In every engagement and during the training periods in between, the 101st Airborne Division has honored the words of its first commander, General William C. Lee, that it has a “rendezvous with destiny.” This book is a fitting record of that history, and of the men who are proud to be called “Screaming Eagles.”

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Book SynopsisThis is a gripping account of the ill-fated RAF raid, on 3 May 1944, on the Panzer tank depot and military barracks at Mailly-le-Camp south of Rheims in northern France, part of the softening up process on German military targets, in preparation for the D-Day landings. Raids like this over occupied France were considered relatively low risk affairs and only counted for one third of a mission for the crews concerned. In total, 362 RAF bombers, Lancasters, Mosquitoes and Halifax, from bases in England took part in a raid and although no-one involved anticipated disaster, forty-two Lancasters never returned home. Almost incredibly, those who planned the attack were apparently unaware that four German night fighter bases were located nearby. Luftwaffe fighters wreaked havoc on the bombers as they circled a marker in bright moonlight awaiting the order to attack their targetThis is the story of that battle, bitterly contested and ever-remembered by those who were engaged, one among hundreds that were fought in the skies over Europe between the RAF''s bombers and the Luftwaffe''s night-fighters in the course of World War Two. It lasted less than sixty minutes but cost two hundred and fifty-five lives.

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Book SynopsisPacific Profiles Volume 16 presents the most accurate wartime profiles and histories to date of the B-17E and F series Flying Fortress which served in the Australia, New Guinea and South Pacific theatres during 1942-1944..

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Book Synopsis'A useful contribution to an overcrowded field of history by giving deserved attention to the ordinary men and unsung machines that aren't usually included in the dramatic narrative.' - The Times'A great read and a real eye-opener to anyone who thinks the Battle of Britain is only about Brits and Germans and Messerschmitts and Spitfires. The value in this account is also the way the back stories of many previously unheralded pilots come to life.' - General Sir David Richards, former Chief of the Defence Staff***In Battle of Britain: The pilots and planes that made history, Ed Gorman and Simon Pearson paint a vivid picture of the men and their machines as the battle for air superiority over Britain is played out across the skies of Europe, from the west of Ireland to the German capital.We experience the battle chronologically through the remarkable stories of eighteen airmen from across the world. Some will be new to many readers: the New Zealander who "borrowed" a seaplane from the Royal Navy to set up a freelance air-sea rescue service that saved the lives of dozens of British and German pilots; the Swiss baron who claimed to have destroyed six British fighters in a day; the vainglorious commander whose RAF squadron was wiped out trying to disrupt Nazi invasion plans; and the German bomber pilot who fought the first battle involving foreign troops on British soil since Culloden - before repairing to a pub for a pint with soldiers who had taken him prisoner.Illustrated with contemporary photographs of the pilots and their aircraft, this is an enthralling and original account from both sides of a conflict that shaped the modern world, full of courage, endeavour and, above all, humanity.Trade ReviewMost of these pilots are refreshingly ordinary, not knights... Pearson and Gorman allow these young men to tell their own stories... there's no need to embroider tales already incredible. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe Russian Patriotic War of 1812 tells the story that inspired Tolstoy?s epic novel War and Peace and will appeal to those interested in Russian history, military history and wargamers alike. It is the only publicly available translation into English of Bogdanovich?s official history of the Russian Forces involvement fighting against Napoleon and his allies in Russia in 1812. This translation also includes extracts from Ivan Liprandi?s critique of Bogdanovich?s work.This final volume of the trilogy continues to cover operations from the Russian perspective; from Napoleon?s abandoning of Moscow to the expulsion of the Grande Armée from the Russian Empire, including operations against the Prussian and Austro-Saxon auxiliary corps on the flanks. The author had full access to Russian state archives but also made extensive reference to published works by French and German historians in order to provide greater context. The maps show entire phases of the war, while the battle plans show locations of dominant terrain, according to detailed state surveys, while villages, forests and roads have been copied from previously published Russian plans. Appendices and footnotes also include detailed orders-of-battle, important correspondence, and a bibliography with Bogdanovich?s and Liprandi?s critical assessments of these sources.

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Book SynopsisDuring the Polish campaign, SS combat units were seconded to various formations of the Heer. Still considered more parade troops than frontline soldiers, they did not prove a decisive factor in the fighting, but the campaign was important for their transformation into real fighting units. They were criticized for their losses, and the officers were blamed, being considered poorly and inadequately trained. The SS officers in turn accused Heer commanders for sacrificing SS troops in suicidal missions. Himmler became convinced that if his units were used autonomously they could have better demonstrated their full potential, leading him to push for the SS to be considered a separate fighting force.Fully illustrated, this Casemate Illustrated describes the actions of the SS units that fought on the front line in Poland, primarily the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, the SS-Verfügungstruppen and the SS-Heimwehr-Danzig.

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Book SynopsisEmpire of Guns expertly brings to life a bustling industrial society with a human story at its heart to offer a radically new understanding of a critical historical moment and all that followed from it.Trade Review'A fascinating study of the centrality of militarism in 18th-century British life, and how imperial expansion and arms went hand in hand... This book is a triumph' Guardian'A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose' Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies'Satia's detailed retelling of the Industrial Revolution and Britain's relentless empire expansion notably contradicts simple free market narratives... She argues convincingly that the expansion of the armaments industry and the government's role in it is inseparable from the rise of innumerable associated industries from finance to mining... Fascinating' New York Times'Satia marshals an overwhelming amount of evidence to show, comprehensively, that guns had a place at the center of every conventional tale historians have so far told about the origins of the modern, industrialized world... This book leaves us with the disquieting notion that guns - whether the slow and inaccurate weapons of the eighteenth century or today's models - do more than alternately cloak or explore human inclination towards violence. They also shape it' New Republic'A richly researched and probing historical narrative that challenges our understanding of the engines that drove Britain’s industrial revolution. With this book, Priya Satia... affirms her place as a deeply captivating and thought-provoking historian' Caroline Elkins, Pulitzer Prize winner for Imperial Reckoning'An important revisionist account of the industrial revolution... a revelatory book' Sven Beckert, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Empire of Cotton

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Book SynopsisAn acknowledged expert investigates the clashes between Soviet partisans and their German and locally recruited opponents on the Eastern Front during World War II.The savage partisan war on the Eastern Front during World War II saw a wide variety of forces deployed by both sides. On the Soviet side, civilian partisans fought alongside, and in co-operation with, Red Army troops and Red Army and NKVD special forces. On the German side, German Army security divisions, with indigenous components including cavalry, fought alongside SS police and Waffen-SS units and other front-line troops employed for short periods in the anti-partisan role. In addition to providing the background history of the forces of both sides, this study focuses upon three examples of German anti-partisan operations that show varied success in dealing with the Soviet partisan threat. Notably, it covers a major operation in north-west Russia during the spring of 1943 -- Operation Spring ClTable of ContentsIntroduction / The Opposing Sides / Combat 1 / Combat 2 / Combat 3 / Analysis / Aftermath / Unit Organizations / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisMany stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF's young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler's Luftwaffe, and of the dogged courage of the men of Bomber Command flying night after night over Germany in the face of flak and Focke-Wulfs, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners - the aerial photographers.Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old and soon found himself at the controls of a Spitfire high above enemy territory. The PRU aircraft were stripped of all non-essential equipment to increase their performance, because speed and height was their only protection as the aircraft's guns were among those items that were removed.In this light-hearted reminiscence, Ken Johnson relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavoured to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective.As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy."The Spy in the Sky" fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War. AUTHOR: Kenneth Johnson was born in Leicester on 5 December 1922. He led an unremarkable childhood, except that he had a penchant for building and repairing bicycles and motorcycles, and learning how to operate them. By the age of 17 he had saved enough money to buy a second-hand car and went to work in a furniture store in Coventry. The Second World War then intervened in his future! 16 b/w illustrations

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Book SynopsisToday, Alan Turing is a well-recognised name, but it was not always so. Until the last few years of the 20th century hardly anyone had heard of him or his achievements. All that changed when the British government permitted the story of Bletchley Park during the Second World War to emerge.We learnt that Alan Turing had had a pivotal role in breaking the Enigma cipher, used by German forces.This was so significant that it helped to shorten the length of the war. Alan Turing was an extraordinary man who crammed into a life of only 42 years other careers besides secret codebreaker: he was also a mathematician, computer scientist and biologist. For example, with Tommy Flowers he built the first computer. A man ahead of his time, many of his theories and calculations are still relevant today. In this guide to a truly remarkable life, recent research by Alan Turing's nephew, Dermot, has unearthed a fresh perspective and made entirely accessible this story to the modern reader.

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Book SynopsisThis is a fascinating fast-paced study on the politics of command, human nature, and the stress of war, and how it all combined to influence the outcome of the Civil War's most important campaign.

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Book SynopsisIn 1969, several young men met on a rainy night in Kabul to form an Islamist student group. Their aim was laid out in a simple typewritten statement: to halt the spread of Soviet and American influence in Afghanistan. They went on to change the world. 'Night Letters' tells the extraordinary story of the group’s most notorious member, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and the guerrilla organisation he came to lead, Hizb-e Islami. By the late 1980s, tens of thousands were drawn to Hekmatyar’s vision of a radical Islamic state that would sow unrest from Kashmir to Jerusalem. His doctrine of violent global jihad culminated in 9/11 and the birth of ISIS, yet he never achieved his dream of ruling Afghanistan. The peace deal he signed with Kabul in 2016 was yet another controversial twist in an astonishing life. Sands and Qazizai delve into the secret history of Hekmatyar and Hizb-e Islami: their wars against Russian and American troops, and their bloody and bitter feuds with domestic enemies. Based on hundreds of exclusive interviews carried out across the region and beyond, this is the definitive account of the most important, yet poorly understood, international Islamist movement of the last fifty years.Trade Review'Night Letters is a treasure trove of political and military detail. For those involved with Afghanistan it is a must read. … Sands and Qazizai have produced one of the most thorough histories of modern Afghanistan.' -- Asian Affairs

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Book SynopsisA compact guide to the Napoleonic Wars. Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Age of Napoleon • The Revolutionary Background • The Making of a Reputation • Artillery • The Italian Campaign • Infantry • Egypt and Syria • Brumaire and Marengo • Ruler and Lawgiver • Ulm and Austerlitz • War at Sea • Napoleon's Art of War • The Jena Campaign • Grande Armée • Berlin to Tilsit • Cavalry • Napoleon in Spain • Napoleon's Family • The Wagram Campaign • The Spanish Ulcer 1809-11 • The • Imperial Court • The War of 1812 • Russia: The Niemen to Moscow • Russia: Fire and Snow • Military Medicine • The Spanish Ulcer 1812-14 • The Home Front: Napoleonic France • The Battle of the Nations • Napoleon's Greatest Adversaries • The Champagne Campaign • The Congress of Vienna • The Hundred Days: Return and Attack • The Imperial Guard • The Hundred Days: Waterloo • Imperial Twilight: St Helena • Napoleon's Legacy.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe image of Sparta, and the Spartans, is one dyed indelibly into the public consciousness: musclebound soldiers with long hair and red cloaks, bearing shiny bronze shields emblazoned with the Greek letter lambda. ''This is Sparta!'', bellows Leonidas on the silver screen, as he decides to lead his 300 warriors to their deaths at Thermopylae. But what was Sparta? The myths surrounding Sparta are as old as the city itself. Even in antiquity, Sparta was a unique society, considered an enigma. The Spartans who fought for freedom against the Persians called themselves ''equals'' or peers, but their equality was reliant on the ruthless exploitation of the indigenous population known as helots. The Spartans'' often bizarre rules and practices have the capacity to horrify as much they do to fascinate us today. Athenian writers were intrigued and appalled in equal measure by a society where weak or disabled babies were said to have been examined carefully by state officials before being dumpedTrade ReviewWith a succinctness worthy of his subjects - whose 'linguistic austerity' inspired the word 'laconic' - Bayliss distils extensive research to offer an engaging, lucid insight into this unique society. * Madeleine Finney, The Mail on Sunday *A new history of these extraordinary and often terrifying people, which is both scholarly and highly entertaining. * Christopher Hart, Mail Online *A readable, informative, excellent survey. * Brian Maye, The Irish Times *Anyone interested in Sparta should read it, and every school library should own it. * David Stuttard, Classics for All *The Spartans will prove of value not only to the layman interested in learning something about this most famous ancient warrior culture, but also the seasoned student of the subject. * A. A. Nofi, New York Military Affairs *[A] thematic and scholarly treatment. * Paul Cartledge, author of The Spartans: An Epic History *With deceptive ease, [Bayliss] guides his readers not just across well-trodden ground but sometimes to unexpected vantage points from where he can challenge orthodox views... The Spartans punches above its weight, and with 14 black-and-white illustrations (including two maps), references, suggestions for further reading and an index, it's a knockout. Anyone interested in Sparta should read it, and every school library should own it. * David Stuttard, Classics for All *Throughout the book, Bayliss never shouts. Yet, in his quiet, succinct way, he has produced a book that can with some justice claim, 'This is Sparta.' * Alastair Brans, Australian Book Review *Table of Contents1: Go tell the Spartans 2: Sparta's civic structure 3: The Spartan lifestyle 4: Raising a Spartan 5: Spartan women 6: Helots 7: The Later Reception of Sparta Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisA vivid and original account of warfare in the Middle Ages and the cruelty and atrocity that accompanied it.Sean McGlynn investigates the reality of medieval warfare. For all the talk of chivalry, medieval warfare routinely involved acts which we would consider war crimes. Lands laid waste, civilians slaughtered, prisoners massacred: this was standard fare justified by tradition and practical military necessity. It was unbelievably barbaric, but seldom uncontrolled. Such acts of atrocity were calculated, hideous cruelties inflicted in order to achieve a specific end. Sean McGlynn examines the battles of Acre and Agincourt, sieges like Béziers, Lincoln, Jerusalem and Limoges as well as the infamous chevauchées of the Hundred Years War that devastated great swathes of France. He reveals how these grisly affairs form the origin of accepted ''rules of war'', codes of conduct that are today being enforced in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.Trade ReviewGory, but compelling reading * NORTHERN ECHO *a much needed corrective to the view that chivalry definied medieval fighting * CONTEMPORARY REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of Masters and Commanders, Andrew Roberts'' The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War has been hailed as the finest single-volume account of this epic conflict. The Second World War lasted for 2,174 days and claimed the lives of over 50 million people. Why did it take the course that it did? Why did the Axis lose? And could they, with a different strategy, have won? Ranging from the Western front to North Africa, from the Baltic to the Far East, he brings the story of the war - and those who fought it - into focus as never before. ''One of the greatest historians of our time ... His masterpiece''   Oliver Marre, Observer ''An undoubted triumph. This, simply, is the best one-volume history of the Second World War currently available''  Laurence Rees ''Magnificent ... Stylish penmanship, gritty research and lucid reasoning, coupled with poignant and hTrade ReviewRoberts's populist approach makes for a rollicking good read and never comes at the expense of accuracy. His mastery of the huge variety of subjects is truly impressive and his ability to marshal these subjects into a single compelling narrative stunning -- Keith Lowe * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisOften described as the misuse of science, chemical and biological weapons have incurred widespread opposition over the years. Despite condemnation from the United Nations, governments, and the disarmament lobby, they remain very real options for rogue states and terrorists. In this new edition of Agents of War, Edward M. Spiers has expanded and updated this much-needed history with two new chapters on political poisoning and chemical weapons in the Middle East. Spiers breaks new ground by presenting his analysis in both historical and contemporary contexts, giving a comprehensive chronological account of why, where, and when such weapons were used or suspected to be deployed.Trade Review"A comprehensive overview of the development, future, and implications of biological and chemical weapons. Spiers's book traces the origins of chemical and biological warfare from their ancient beginnings to the first major use of gas in 1915 in World War I, to more recent uses and suspicions of use."-- "Arms Control, on the first edition" "A succinct and readily accessible account of the history and key issues associated with chemical and biological weapons from World War I to the present. . . . An excellent overview of an often underappreciated segment of twentieth- and twenty-first-century security studies. . . . It deserves the thoughtful attention of both students and professionals."-- "Military Review, on the first edition" "Provides a compelling case for governments across the globe not to overlook the potential threat of biological and chemical weapons. . . . The book is more than just a history of these weapons, but also an important addition to the literature on the types of threat we are likely to face in the future. . . . An important reminder of the substantial destructive and psychological power of chemical and biological weapons, as well as an accessible history about how states have thought about their use and utility in the past."-- "Political Studies Review, on the first edition" "This concise work, with its extensive references and bibliography, will be of interest to all students and professionals in the fields of history, political science, public policy, toxicology, and chemical technology. Recommended."-- "Choice, on the first edition"

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