Modern warfare Books

Book SynopsisOn July 31, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Maddox (DD-731) began a reconnaissance cruise off the coast of North Vietnam. On August 2, three North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the ship. On the night of August 4, the Maddox and another destroyer, the USS Turner Joy (DD-951), expecting to be attacked, saw what they interpreted as hostile torpedo boats on their radars and reported themselves under attack. The following day, the United States bombed North Vietnam in retaliation. Congress promptly passed, almost unanimously and with little debate, a resolution granting President Lyndon Johnson authority to take "all necessary measures" to deal with aggression in Vietnam.The incident of August 4, 1964, is at the heart of this book. The author interviewed numerous Americans who were present. Most believed in the moment that an attack was occurring. By the time they were interviewed, there were more doubters than believers, but the ones who still believed were more confident in their opinions. Factoring in degree of assurance, one could say that the witnesses were split right down the middle on this fundamental question. A careful and rigorous examination of the other forms of evidence, including intercepted North Vietnamese naval communications, interrogations of North Vietnamese torpedo boat personnel captured later in the war, and the destroyers' detailed records of the location and duration of radar contacts, lead the author to conclude that no attack occurred that night.

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Book Synopsis*A NATIONAL BESTSELLER!* The New York Post calls The Last Fighter Pilot a "must-read" book. From April to August of 1945, Captain Jerry Yellin and a small group of fellow fighter pilots flew dangerous bombing and strafe missions out of Iwo Jima over Japan. Even days after America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, the pilots continued to fly. Though Japan had suffered unimaginable devastation, the emperor still refused to surrender. Bestselling author Don Brown (Treason) sits down with Yelllin, now ninety-three years old, to tell the incredible true story of the final combat mission of World War II. Nine days after Hiroshima, on the morning of August 14th, Yellin and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Phillip Schlamberg took off from Iwo Jima to bomb Tokyo. By the time Yellin returned to Iwo Jima, the war was officially over—but his young friend Schlamberg would never get to hear the news. The Last Fighter Pilot is a harrowing first-person account of war from one of America's last living World War II veterans.

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Book SynopsisThe years leading to World War I were the 'Age of the Dreadnought'. The monumental battleship design, first introduced by Admiral Fisher to the Royal Navy in 1906, was quickly adopted around the world and led to a new era of naval warfare and policy. In this book, Roger Parkinson provides a re-writing of the naval history of Britain and the other leading naval powers from the 1880s to the early years of World War I. The years before 1914 were characterised by intensifying Anglo-German naval competition, with an often forgotten element beyond Europe in the form of the rapidly developing navies of the United States and Japan. Parkinson shows that, although the advent of the dreadnought was the pivotal turning-point in naval policy, in fact much of the technology that enabled the dreadnought to be launched was a continuity from the pre-dreadnought era. In the annals of the Royal Navy two names will always be linked: those of Admiral Sir John 'Jacky' Fisher and the ship he created, HMS Dreadnought. This book shows how the dreadnought enabled the Royal Navy to develop from being primarily the navy of the 'Pax Britannica' in the Victorian era to being a war-ready fighting force in the early years of the twentieth century. The ensuing era of intensifying naval competition rapidly became a full-blooded naval arms race, leading to the development of super-dreadnoughts and escalating tensions between the European powers. Providing a truly international perspective on the dreadnought phenomenon, this book will be essential reading for all naval history enthusiasts and anyone interested in World War I.Trade Review'An informative and readable book, it provides a useful summary of the subject, placing it in a wider context' Michael DuffyTable of ContentsPreface The Origins of the Pre-Dreadnought Era The Pre-Dreadnought Era in the 1890s The New Navies of the 1890s Fisher and the Dreadnought The Imperial German Navy The Politics and Diplomacy of Naval Policy From Dreadnoughts to Super-Dreadnoughts The Worldwide Dreadnought Arms Race The First World War

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Book SynopsisThe Allies’ M10 Tank Destroyer and the Germans’ Sturmgeschütz (StuG) lll were the unsung workhorses of the northwest European battlefields of 1944–45. While their mission was not principally fighting one another, their widespread use ensured their frequent encounters, from the Normandy Bocage, to the rubble-strewn streets of Aachen. The StuG lll was the quintessential assault gun, a low-slung, heavily armoured, turret-less vehicle intended to provide direct fire support for infantry formations, whilst the M10 3in Gun Motor Carriage was originally developed as a tank destroyer. However, by 1944 the 3in gun proved ineffectual against the most thickly armored German tanks, and was consequently relegated to infantry support too. Widely deployed in roles their designers had not envisaged, these two armoured fighting vehicles clashed repeatedly during the 11-month campaign, which saw the Allies advance from Normandy to the heart of the Reich. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this is the story of their confrontation at the height of World War ll.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Design and Development /Technical Specifications /The Combatants /The Strategic Situation /Combat /Statistics and Analysis /Further Reading /Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1939 more than 140,000 New Zealanders enlisted to fight overseas during World War II. Of these, 104,000 served in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Initially thrown into the doomed campaign to halt the German blitzkrieg on Greece and Crete (1941), the division was rebuilt under the leadership of MajGen Sir Bernard Freyberg, and became the elite corps within Montgomery’s Eighth Army in the desert. After playing a vital role in the victory at El Alamein (1942) the ‘Kiwis’ were the vanguard of the pursuit to Tunisia. In 1943–45 the division was heavily engaged in the Italian mountains, especially at Cassino (1944); it ended the war in Trieste. Meanwhile, a smaller NZ force supported US forces against the Japanese in the Solomons and New Guinea (1942–44). Fully illustrated with specially commissioned colour plates, this is the story of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force’s vital contribution to Allied victory in World War II.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Campaigns: Greece 1941 – Crete 1941 – 2nd NZ Division in North Africa 1941–43, and Italy 1943–45 – 3rd NZ Division in Solomons and New Guinea 1942–44 /Commanders /Composition and organization: command structure – brigade structure – battalions – training/ Uniforms, weapons and equipment /Plate commentaries /Bibliography /Index

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Book SynopsisBestselling author, former British diplomat and expert on Russia Rodric Braithwaite's gripping account of the intense rivalry between Russia and the West In 1945, the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and warfare was never the same again. Armageddon and Paranoia relates how the power of the atom was harnessed to produce weapons capable of destroying human civilisation and considers what this has done to the world. There are few villains in this story: on both sides of the Iron Curtain, dedicated scientists cracked the secrets of nature, dutiful military men planned out possible manoeuvres and politicians wrestled with potentially intolerable decisions. Patriotic citizens acquiesced to the idea that their country needed the ultimate means of defence. Some tried to grapple with the unanswerable question: what end could possibly be served by such fearsome means? Those who protested went unheard. None of them wanted to start a nuclear war, but all of them were paranoid about what the other side might do. The danger of annihilation by accident or misjudgement has not been entirely absent since. Rodric Braithwaite, author of bestsellers Moscow 1941 and Afgantsy, paints a vivid and detailed portrait of this intense period in history. Its implications are terrifyingly relevant today, as ignorant and thoughtless talk about nuclear war begins to spread once more.Trade ReviewA timely and sober book ... a trenchant and stimulating analysis of nuclear deterrence * Observer *A wise observer of how close we came to Armageddon * Prospect *Braithwaite ... is on top form. * Financial Times *Personal experience plus careful study have given him a remarkable platform from which he brilliantly dissects the ethical dilemmas. -- Jonathan Steele * Guardian *Scintillating. * The Times *Rodric Braithwaite has produced a masterly history of the nuclear age just in time since its dangers are back with a vengeance. Our leaders must take the lessons in this meticulous and revelatory narrative ... -- Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution

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Book SynopsisThe Iraq War is a visual record of the American-led Operation Iraqi Freedom of 2003, which resulted in the dramatic overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein. In a striking sequence of photographs Anthony Tucker-Jones shows how this was achieved by the American and British armed forces in a lightning campaign of just two weeks. But the photographs also show the disastrous aftermath when the swift victory was undermined by the outbreak of the Iraqi insurgency - in the Shia south, in Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle, and in Fallujah where two ferocious battles were fought. The author, who is an expert on the Iraqi armed forces and has written extensively on the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, gives a fascinating insight into the Iraqi army and air force and into the multitude of weapons systems Saddam purchased from around the world. He also looks at the failures on the American and British side - the flaws in the tactics that were used, the poor performance of some of the armoured fighting vehicles - and at the reformed Iraqi armed forces who have now taken responsibility for security in the country. The Iraq War is a vivid photographic introduction to a conflict that has only just passed into history.

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Book SynopsisIt is a recognized fact that, had the war gone badly for the Allies on the India/Burma front, and had the Japanese succeeded in invading the Indian Continent, the outcome of the war would have been entirely different. Yet despite this, the campaign on the Burma front is offered surprisingly scant coverage in the majority of photo-history books. This new book, from respected military historian and author Norman Franks, attempts to redress the balance, noting the importance of this particular aerial conflict within the wider context of the Second World War. Franks takes as his focus the pilots, aircraft and landscapes that characterized the campaign. Photographs acquired during the course of an intensive research period are consolidated into a volume that is sure to make for a popular addition to the established Images of War series. Many unpublished photographs feature, each one offering a new insight into the conflict as it unfolded over Burmese skies. The archive offers a wealth of dynamic images of RAF Hurricanes and Spitfires in flight, with shots of both the aircraft and the pilots employed during this challenging conflict. To fly and fight in Burma, pilots really had to be at the top of their game. The Japanese enemy certainly weren't the only problem to contend with; weather, poor food, incredible heat and all its attendant maladies, jungle diseases, tigers, elephants, fevers...The Japanese were the real enemy but the British pilots had so much more to deal with. And they did it for years. In Britain, a pilot could look forward to a break from operations every six months or so on average. In Burma, pilots first employed in 1941 were still flying operations in 1944. The collection represents a determination on the author's part to record the part played by these resilient and skilled RAF fighter pilots, the contribution that they paid in supporting General Slim's 14th Army and the part they ultimately played in defeating the Japanese attempts to break through into India. These efforts, all paramount and imperative to success, are celebrated here in words and images in a volume sure to appeal to Spitfire and Hurricane enthusiasts, as well as the more general reader.

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Book Synopsis"It took me three minutes to get through the tunnel. Above ground I crawled along holding the rope for several feet: it was tied to a tree. Sergeant Bergsland joined me; we arranged our clothes and walked to the Sagan railway station. 'Bergsland was wearing a civilian suit he had made for himself from a Royal Marine uniform, with an RAF overcoat slightly altered with brown leather sewn over the buttons. A black RAF tie, no hat. He carried a small suitcase which had been sent from Norway. In it were Norwegian toothpaste and soap, sandwiches, and 163 Reichsmarks given to him by the Escape Committee. We caught the 2:04 train to Frankfurt an der Oder. Our papers stated we were Norwegian electricians from the Labour camp in Frankfurt working in the vicinity of Sagan.' Jens Muller was one of only three men who successfully escaped from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 - the break that later became the basis for the famous film the "Great Escape". Muller was no. 43 of the 76 prisoners of war who managed to escape from the camp (now in ?aga? Poland). Together with Per Bergsland he stowed away on a ship to Gothenburg. The escapees sought out the British consulate and were flown from Stockholm and were flown to Scotland. From there they were sent by train to London and shortly afterwards to 'Little Norway' in Canada. Muller's book about his wartime experiences was first published in Norwegian in 1946, titled, 'Tre kom tilbake' (Three Came Back). This is the first translation into English and will correct the impression - set by the film and Charles Bronson - that the men who escaped successfully were American and Australian. In a vivid, informative memoir he details what life in the camp was like, how the escapes were planned and executed and tells the story of his personal breakout and success reaching RAF Leuchars base in Scotland.Trade Review"It's fantastic that Jens Muller's memoir is finally in English. A first-hand account by one of the very few successful Great Escapers makes this not only historically important, but also a thrilling read." Guy Walters, author of The Real Great Escape

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Book SynopsisThis is the true story of how one soldier experienced the horrors and bloodshed of World War II - and lived to tell the tale. Hans Fackler, like many boys his age, was conscripted into the Wehrmacht at the age of seventeen and sent to the Eastern Front. A pioneer in the infantry, he barely survived the carnage of the front lines and lost comrades to the Russian forces. Eventually, Hans suffered a grievous injury from a grenade explosion. No longer able to fight, he found himself drugged on morphine and on board the controversial Wilhelm Gustloff, an armed military transport ship for SS, Gestapo and Wehrmacht personnel, which operated under the guise of transporting civilians. The Gustloff was attacked and sunk by Russian torpedoes, drowning more than 9,000 passengers. Rescued by a German freighter, Hans recuperated in a military hospital near Erfurt in the Harz, which subsequently fell into the Russian zone. He escaped and undertook the arduous task of walking almost 200 miles back home to Bavaria. The extraordinary first-person account of one of the few soldier-survivors of the sinking of the Gustloff, it also includes Hans' experiences of taking part in the Kiev and the Vercors mountains massacres in 1941 and 1944 respectively.

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Book SynopsisEastern Front Sniper is a long overdue and comprehensive biography of one of World War II's most accomplished snipers. Math us Hetzenauer, the son of a Tyrolean peasant family, was born in December 1924. He was drafted into the Mountain Reserve Battalian 140 at the age of 18 but discharged five months later. He received a new draft notice in January 1943 for a post in the Styrian Truppenubungsplatz Seetal Alps where he met some of the best German snipers and learned his art. Hetzenauer went on to fight in Romania, Eastern Hungary and in Slovakia. As recognition for his more than 300 confirmed kills, he was awarded on the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on April 17, 1945. After nearly five years of Soviet captivity Math us Hetzenauer returned to Austria on January 10, 1950. He lived in the Tyrol's Brixen Valley until his death on 3 October of 2004.

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Book SynopsisA fascinating, forgotten story of the six brilliant women who launched modern computing. As the Cold War began, America’s race for tech supremacy was taking off. Experts rushed to complete the top-secret computing research started during World War II, among them six gifted mathematicians: a patriotic Quaker, a Jewish bookworm, a Yugoslav genius, a native Gaelic speaker, a sophomore from the Bronx, and a farmer’s daughter from Missouri. Their mission? Programming the world’s first and only supercomputer—before any code or programming languages existed. These pioneers triumphed against sexist attitudes and huge technical challenges to invent computer programming, yet their monumental contribution has never been recognised—until now. Over a decade, Kathy Kleiman met with four of the original six ENIAC Programmers and recorded their stories. Here, with a light touch and a serious mind, she exposes the deliberate erasure of their achievements and restores the women to their rightful place as revolutionaries, bringing to life their camaraderie, their determination, and their rapidly changing world. As big tech struggles with gender inequality and momentum builds in restoring women to history, the time has come for this engrossing story to be uncovered and celebrated.Trade Review'Kleiman has a novelist’s gift for crafting a page-turning narrative, and the one on offer is both revelatory and inspiring. Fans of Dava Sobel’s The Glass Universe and Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures are in for a treat.' -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Book SynopsisThis book showcases over 150 images of some of the best restored World War Two aircraft that have been made airworthy again. The history, specifications, and war stories of these aircraft are covered, as well as the restoration efforts of the various museums and private owners. For reader's ease, aircraft will be given its own chapter. Aircraft covered include the P-51 Mustang, F6F Hellcat, B-25 Mitchell, P-39 Airacobra, C-47 Skytrain and many more. Delve into this richly detailed look at the deserving aircraft that have been rightfully restored to their former glory.

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Book SynopsisWitnesses of War is the first work to show how children experienced the Second World War under the Nazis. Children were often the victims in this most terrible of European conflicts, falling prey to bombing, mechanised warfare, starvation policies, mass flight and genocide. But children also became active participants, going out to smuggle food, ply the black market, and care for sick parents and siblings. As they absorbed the brutal new realities of German occupation, Polish boys played at being Gestapo interrogators, and Jewish children at being ghetto guards or the SS. Within days of Germany's own surrender, German children were playing at being Russian soldiers. As they imagined themselves in the roles of their all-powerful enemies, children expressed their hopes and fears, as well as their humiliation and envy. This is the first account of the Second World War which brings together the opposing perspectives and contrasting experiences of those drawn into the new colonial empire of the Third Reich. German and Jewish, Polish and Czech, Sinti and disabled children were all to be separated along racial lines, between those fit to rule and those destined to serve; ultimately between those who were to live and those who were to die. Because the Nazis measured their success in terms of Germany's racial future, children lay at the heart of their war. Drawing on a wide range of new sources, from welfare and medical files to private diaries, letters and pictures, Nicholas Stargardt evokes the individual voices of children under Nazi rule. By bringing their experiences of the war together for the first time, he offers a fresh and challenging interpretation of the Nazi social order as a whole.Trade ReviewMagnificent ...His concluding chapter contains some of the best historical writing about the aftermath of the war I have ever read...Stunning -- David Cesarani * Guardian *Unbearably sad though it is, Witnesses of War is utterly compelling. This is clearly a work of expiation...as well as being one of profound historical substance, probably the most genuinely challenging book on the Nazis in a long while -- Allan Mallinson * The Times *Harrowing...The 21st century promises to be as full of wars as the 20th, which is why we need books like Stargardt's that remind us and our leaders what war really means -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Superb...Stargardt makes extensive use of letters, diaries and drawings to tell gripping individual stories... A tremendous achievement, guaranteed to stimulate, move and enrich anyone that opens its pages -- Matthew J. Reisz * Independent on Sunday *Nicholas Stargardt's harrowing account of the lives of children - both Jewish and non-Jewish - in Nazi Germany and its occupied territories is an essential document. The author builds a detailed picture of juvenile life under the Third Reich... Throughout this powerful book, Stargardt conveys the horrors of Nazism and the dangers of blind adherence to ideology... In this vitally important work, Stargardt turns an appalled eye on the destruction of innocence in wartime -- Ian Thomson * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe Allied assault on Normandy beaches was an almost flawless success, but it was to take three months of bitter fighting before the German defence of Normandy finally collapsed and Paris was liberated. In this masterly and highly individual account of that struggle, the reader is subjected to the gruelling ordeals confronted by the combatants - each encounter related from the point of view of a different nationality. While transcending conventional military history, it provides an intensely vivid picture of one of the Second World War's most crucial campaigns.Trade ReviewAs well as being a rare military historian who can also write gracefully, John Keegan has a distinguished capacity for peering behind the conventional view of events. -- Alistair Horne * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisWhen do you think the Second World War ended?If the end of the war was supposed to have brought 'freedom' to countries that suffered under Nazi occupation, then for millions it did not really end until the fall of Communism. In the summer of 1945 many of the countries in Eastern Europe simply swapped the rule of one tyrant, Adolf Hitler, for that of another: Joseph Stalin. Why this happened has remained one of the most troubling questions of the entire conflict, and is at the heart of Laurence Rees' dramatic book.In World War II: Behind Closed Doors, Rees provides an intimate 'behind the scenes' history of the West's dealings with Joseph Stalin - an account which uses material only available since the opening of archives in the East as well as new testimony from witnesses from the period. An enthralling mix of high politics and the often heart-rending personal experiences of those on the ground, it will make you rethink what you believe about World War II.Trade Review'There are many surprises here... The relationship between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill makes an ugly story, and Rees tells is extraordinarily well' -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThe formation of the Pathfinder Force in August 1942 produced a steady but certain change in the fortunes of Bomber Command. Its effectiveness against targets during the early years of the war had been very difficult to gauge. When examined in detail afterwards, aerial photographs showed that only one third of the aircraft were successfully reaching their target area and less than this were actually placing their bombs with target accuracy. It was known during the large-scale bombing of Coventry in the autumn of 1940 that the Germans had used an elite force of pathfinder aircraft, armed with incendiaries, who had acted as target finders for the main force of German bombers. What was now needed for the RAF were some similar specialist squadrons, with crews handpicked for their discipline, courage, high morale and, in particular, skills in a wider than normal range of flying jobs. Sidney Bufton, Deputy Director of Bomber Operations, developed the concept of a new Target Finding Force, and his tenacity in putting pressure upon senior Air Ministry staff to implement his ideas and bring Bomber Command out of the doldrums paid off. The new force was finally accepted and the choice of Don Bennett as its first Commander was inspired. Bennett was restless, imaginative, and receptive to change. He never accepted second best and he became a legend to all who served under him. Pathfinder Squadrons were equipped with the best available aircraft, which included the famous Lancaster bomber and later, increasingly, the Mosquito which was a hugely versatile and successful fighter bomber. Would be aircrew for the RAF came as volunteers from all parts of the world including Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand. To join a Pathfinder Squadron was a rare privilege but with it went a huge leap in the likelihood of being shot down. Pathfinder aircrew and aircraft had to lead the way for their following Bomber Force in hazardous raid after raid. They flew at night but it took a full 25 minutes to run the gauntlet of the Berlin defences from end to end at full stretch. They were highly vulnerable to the wall of flak thrown up by German city defenders, as well as to attacks by night-fighters. By the end of the war some 56,000 crewmen of Bomber Command had lost their lives. Martyn Chorlton has written a gripping account of the RAF's Pathfinder Squadrons, recalling the challenges faced in the smoke-filled skies over occupied Europe. It is also a tribute to the brave young men whose exploits, lives and, in all too many cases, deaths have left a powerful torch to bear for all who care about freedom. The book carries a moving foreward by Michael Wadsworth, Chaplain to the Pathfinders Association.

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Book SynopsisBerkshire began the Second World War in 1939 with virtually no military airfields. However, this quickly changed and a massive building programme was soon underway, initially intended to provide training facilities for bomber crews. As the newly built airfields became operational, some were taken over by the USAAF including Greenham Common, Membury and Welford and they were involved in the planning and eventual execution of operation Overlord, the Allied D-Day assault upon Fortress Europe. White Waltham near Maidenhead will always be remembered as the headquarters of the legendary Air Transport Auxiliary, whose male and then increasingly female pilots - including Amy Johnson - ferried every type of aircraft from the factories to the front line airfields. Not only did the ATA prove that girls had excellent flying skills, but also that they were capable of piloting solo the largest bombers. This book describes the history of each airfield, highlights some of the major operations carried out from them, and marks their overall contribution to the great war effort. The effects of the war on the daily lives of the people living in Berkshire are also described. Reading and Newbury in particular realised the constant dangers they faced from random daylight attacks by German planes. Robin Brook's action-packed account will bring back vivid memories for many. It is a sharp reminder of the time when the skies never ceased to throb with the drone of departing and returning aircraft.

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Book SynopsisFounded in 1922 the Hitler Youth movement was the second oldest Nazi group. Comprising male youths aged 14 - 18, by December 1936 membership stood at over 5 million. During the Second World War the role of Hitlerjugend evolved from assisting with the postal, train and fire services into full war fighting. Recruits went into units such as the elite 12th SS Panzer-Division 'Hitlerjugend' and we see graphic images of this Waffen-SS force in action both on the Eastern and Western fronts. Even as the Nazi cause faced inevitable defeat these units fought with fanatical and disturbing bravery and after defeat in May 1945 elements carried out guerrilla actions in the Bavarian and Austrian mountains. The reader will find much original material on this legendary but distasteful Nazi organisation.Trade ReviewHow Nazi boy soldiers fought advancing Allied troops in the final days of the Second World War is described in a new book about the Hitlerjugend. Founded in 1922, the Nazi youth movement boasted five million members by the time war broke out in September 1939. The book, HitlerA fs Boy Soldiers (Pen and Sword: GBP12.99), tells how these German youngsters, after the fall of Berlin, fled to the mountains of Bavaria and Austria in the hope of continuing resistance as partisans. Using rare, mostly unpublished images, author Hans Seidler traces the development of the Htlerjugend into tough fighting formations. One caption to an action picture explains that with so many youngsters in fighting units, their officers replaced the usual cigarette ration with sweets until the boys were old enough to smoke. Dover Express & Folkestone Herald Another great release from Pen and Sword in their Images of War series. The book tells the compelling story of the rise and fall off this well known division during the years before and during WWII. One can only imagine how the Allied forces felt when they met this formidable fighting formation. Rare and often unseen black and white images are used like in any other release in this Images of War series. Inscale

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Book SynopsisLuftwaffe over Scotland is the first complete history of the air attacks mounted against Scotland by Nazi Germany during World War Two and undertakes a detailed examination of the strategy, tactics and politics involved on both sides, together with a technical critique of the weaponry employed by both attackers and defenders. Extensive figures on Scottish civilian casualties have been included, together with a full list of all Scottish locations that were bombed and details of German aircraft losses. From the relentless hit-and-run attacks up the east coast of Scotland to the calamities of Clydebank and Greenock, Luftwaffe over Scotland not only offers a detailed analysis of exactly what happened, but also provides fresh new evidence and claims regarding many aspects of the war in Scotland - some of them specifically at odds with the more traditional British portrayals of World War Two. Some of the controversial issues raised include Why was there no 'Phoney War' in Scotland? Did the Battle of Britain begin over Orkney in April, 1940? Why were more people killed in Glasgow than at the target of Clydebank? Why were the Greenock raids such a disastrous failure for the Luftwaffe?Why did Hitler personally ensure Aberdeen became Scotland's last raided city? Why was the last air battle in Europe fought off the Aberdeenshire coast? Luftwaffe over Scotland draws on a wide variety of sources, such as official archives, articles, letters and personal testimonies, including information about German Luftwaffe operations, to paint the first full and accurate picture of the dramatic and often brutal air attacks that took place in almost every village, town and city in Scotland during World War Two. From a detailed analysis of the attacking German forces, to an explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the air defences around Scotland, this is an important and long-overdue contribution to the full understanding of this dramatic period in the history of the modern Scottish nation.Trade Review'...contains significant new information and fresh analysis of the main Luftwaffe air raids, including many previously unpublished photographs.' The Scots Magazine '...descriptions of attacks and targets make fascinating reading with easy-to-follow lists of the Luftwaffe's key Scottish targets... ...shows a depth of knowledge that's as impressive as some of Britain's best-known military warfare writers. ...easy to understand and breaks up the subject into sections and with superb images that deliver a concise and detailed account of a very important, and largely ignored, part of the German war on Britain.' The Knocknews and Regional Adertiser 'It is truly a must-read.' Irvine Herald '...an excellent book which sets out an engaging, measured and carefully researchedaccount of the air war over Scotland during World War II. ...Les Taylor is to be chronological treatment of his subject. ...succeeds in throwing new and unexpected light on the subject.' Undiscovered Scotland '...is a long-overdue publication that goes a long way to help our understanding of the German bombing campaign over Scotland during World War Two and answers some important questions. ... The book includes some previously unpublished photographs, plenty of clear, detailed full page maps, Bibliography, good index, and 144 pages. Without a doubt to be kept handy on your bookshelf. Highly recommended.' Wargames Illustrated

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Book SynopsisFirst Lieutenant Wolfgang Wollenweber''s WWII odyssey, from combat operations in the Me110 over Russia with the ''Arctic Sea Hunters'', to pitting the extraordinary HE162 jet fighter against Allied fighters over Germany, and flying possibly the final Luftwaffe mission of WWII, may be the last great ''untold'' story from a WWII Luftwaffe pilot.Posted to the Arctic front in 1943, Wollenweber flew ME110s on escort missions and ground attack, shooting down several Soviet aircraft in the process, for which he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. As the fortunes of the war turned against the Third Reich, Wollenweber volunteered for defence duties and soon found himself training to fly the lethal Me163 Komet rocket fighter, before being transferred to the innovative ''wonder weapon'' - the He162 Jet Fighter.The He162 ''Volksjäger'' (People''s Fighter) was meant to be capable of being flown by members of the Hitler Youth with only rudimentary flying experience, but instead turned out to be an unforgiving machine in untrained hands and whilst Wollenberger himself became one of the most experienced He162 pilots, he witnessed the brutal human toll it exacted on the unwary or unlucky. And as one of the few pilots to have flown the He162 in combat, he finally settles the vexed question of whether the He162 ever shot down an Allied aircraft.Wollenweber describes in his own words the shocking truth of the last desperate days of the Third Reich, and does not shy away from describing the horrors he witnessed and naming the corrupt and incompetent individuals he came across. This is a vividly told story and an important inside account not just of the revolutionary He162, but also the changing fortunes of the Luftwaffe - from happy hunting on the Russian front to its final disintegration over a destroyed homeland.

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Book SynopsisOn 12 August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, in an engagement with Dornier Do 17s, Geoffrey Page was shot down into the English Channel, suffering severe burns. He spent much of the next two years in hospitals, undergoing plastic surgery, but recovered sufficiently to pursue an extremely distinguished war and post-war career. This eloquently written and critically acclaimed autobiography tells of his wartime exploits in the air and on the ground. He was a founder member of The Guinea Pig Club – formed by badly burnt aircrew – and this is a fascinating account of the club, of the courage and bravery of ‘The Few’, and of Geoffrey’s later life and achievements, most particularly in the creation of The Battle of Britain memorial.Trade ReviewQuite simply one of the best books I have ever read about the men who fought the war in the air. The few who became the many. It is funny, poignant, larky but always with the ring of appalling truth.A" The Daily Mail For sheer narrative power, it ranks with the best.A" Daily Telegraph Gripping reading...a remarkable tale of survival, but told with great candour and without a trace of self pity.A" British Aerospace News

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of a very British deterrent. Much has been written about the V-bombers – the Valiant, Victor and Vulcan – but virtually nothing has been said about their strategic nuclear strike role. How would Britain’s small force of subsonic bombers have retaliated following a Soviet attack? Would they have succeeded in visiting thermonuclear catastrophe on their Soviet targets? V-Bombers: Britain’s Nuclear Frontline in the Cold War is the first detailed account of the operational capability and credibility of the airborne nuclear deterrent during the peak years of confrontation with the Soviet Union. This book is the product of seven years of research by the author, Dr Tony Redding. It includes a great deal of fresh material on V-Force weapons, war mission, targeting, vulnerabilities and tactics for attacking targets within Soviet Russia. Over 70 V-Force aircrew and ground crew were interviewed and over 300 operational research reports and other official documents reviewed. The author demonstrates how the V-bombers retained a unilateral capacity to destroy a small number of the very largest cities in the Soviet Union in the period until the handover of the strategic nuclear deterrent to the Polaris submarines in 1969. This core retaliatory threat, centred on the destruction of Moscow and Leningrad, was judged severe enough to undermine Russia’s position in relation to the United States. In short, a few British V-bombers had the destructive capacity to destabilise the balance between the superpowers. The book concludes that, within the first few hours, a small force of surviving V-bombers could have unleashed the explosive power of all Allied bombs dropped on Germany in six years of war. A sobering thought and a fascinating and necessary read for all those interested in this period of history.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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