Modern warfare Books

Book SynopsisJohn Laurence covered the Vietnam war for CBS News from 1965 to 1970 and was judged by his colleagues to be the best television reporter of the war. His documentary about a squad of U.S. troops, "The World of Charlie Company," received every major award for broadcast journalism. Despite the professional acclaim, however, the traumatic stories Laurence covered became a personal burden that he carried long after the war was over. In this evocative, unflinching memoir, laced with humour, anger, love, and the unforgettable story of Méo, the Vietnamese cat, Laurence recalls coming of age during the war years as a journalist and as a man. Along the way, he clarifies the murky history of the war and the role that journalists played in altering its course. The Cat from Hué has earned passionate acclaim from many of the most renowned journalists and writers about the war, as well as from military officers and war veterans, book reviewers, and readers. Now available in trade paperback with a new epilogue, this book will stand with Michael Herr's Dispatches , Philip Caputo's A Rumor of War , and Neil Sheehan's A Bright, Shining Lie as one of the best books ever written about Vietnam-and about war generally.

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Book Synopsis"The Verdict of the VERSAILLES TREATY that Germany and her allies were responsible for the War, in view of the evidence now available, is historically unsound. It should therefore be revised." These are the words of Sidney Bradshaw Fay, noted revisionist historian, on the concluding page of his magisterial Origins of the World War, published in 1928. We now know more about the Great War than merely its origins. We now know that Great Britain''s first act of war on 4 August 1914 was to cut the two trans-Atlantic cables that connected Berlin to New York City. We now know that America''s professed neutrality in the early years of the conflict was a hoax. We now know that the Cunard passenger liner RMS Lusitania doubled as a munitions ship, and purposefully steamed into harm''s way in May 1915. We now know that the alleged atrocities by the German army in Belgium were all lies. We now know that the British organized a massive, covert propaganda apparatus with the goal of dragging America into the war on the side of the Allies. And we now also know that America''s involvement in 1917 as a belligerent in Europe was a tragic misstep by anglophile Woodrow Wilson, that had profound implications not only for the United States but for Europe as well, ensuring an even more catastrophic reprise in 1939. Wilson himself declared, "We all know that this was a commercial war," in September 1919. In April 1937, on the 20th anniversary of America''s entry into the war, a Gallup Poll found that 70 percent of respondents thought "it was a mistake for the United States to have entered the Great War." Dr. George Gallup himself declared that "this conviction has been the great master principle of the post-war period in the United States". The lesson is forgotten, propaganda for war repeats, and history repeats. The majorities supporting an invasion of Iraq in 2003 turned two years later to 60 percent opposition to the war. . . a lesson learned too late again.

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Book SynopsisWorld War II shaped the United States in profound ways, and this new book--the first in the Legacies of War series--explores one of the most significant changes it fostered: a dramatic increase in ethnic and religious tolerance. A Nation Forged in War is the first full-length study of how large-scale mobilization during the Second World War helped to dissolve long-standing differences among white soldiers of widely divergent backgrounds.Never before or since have so many Americans served in the armed forces at one time: more than 15 million donned uniforms in the period from 1941 to 1945. Thomas Bruscino explores how these soldiers' shared experiences--enduring basic training, living far from home, engaging in combat--transformed their views of other ethnic groups and religious traditions. He further examines how specific military policies and practices worked to counteract old prejudices, and he makes a persuasive case that throwing together men of different regions, ethnicities, religions, and classes not only fostered a greater sense of tolerance but also forged a new American identity. When soldiers returned home after the war with these new attitudes, they helped reorder what it meant to be white in America.Using the presidential campaigns of Al Smith in 1928 and John F. Kennedy in 1960 as bookend events, Bruscino notes a key change in religious bias. Smith's defeat came at the end of a campaign rife with anti-Catholic sentiment; Kennedy's victory some three decades later proved that such religious bigotry was no longer an insurmountable obstacle. Despite such advances, Bruscino notes that the growing broad-mindedness produced by the war had limits: it did not extend to African Americans, whose own struggle for equality would dramatically mark the postwar decades.Extensively documented, A Nation Forged in War is one of the few books on the social and cultural impact of the World War II years. Scholars and students of military, ethnic, social, and religious history will be fascinated by this groundbreaking new volume.

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Book SynopsisIt all started because of a rifle. The Rifle is an inspirational story and hero’s journey of a 28-year-old U.S. Marine, Andrew Biggio, who returned home from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, full of questions about the price of war. He found answers from those who survived the costliest war of all -- WWII veterans. It began when Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand Rifle, the most common rifle used in WWII, to honor his great uncle, a U.S. Army soldier who died on the hills of the Italian countryside. When Biggio showed the gun to his neighbor, WWII veteran Corporal Joseph Drago, it unlocked memories Drago had kept unspoken for 50 years. On the spur of the moment, Biggio asked Drago to sign the rifle. Thus began this Marine’s mission to find as many WWII veterans as he could, get their signatures on the rifle, and document their stories. For two years, Biggio traveled across the country to interview America’s last-living WWII veterans. Each time he put the M1 Garand Rifle in their hands, their eyes lit up with memories triggered by holding the weapon that had been with them every step of the war. With each visit and every story told to Biggio, the veterans signed their names to the rifle. 96 signatures now cover that rifle, each a reminder of the price of war and the courage of our soldiers.

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Book SynopsisOperation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, led to one of the most brutal campaigns of World War II: of the estimated 70 million people who died in World War II, over 30 million died on the Eastern Front. Although it has previously been argued that the campaign was a pre-emptive strike, in fact, Hitler had been planning a war of intervention against the USSR ever since he came to power in 1933. Using previously unseen sources, acclaimed military historian Rolf-Dieter Muller shows that Hitler and the Wehrmacht had begun to negotiate with Poland and had even considered an alliance with Japan soon after taking power. Despite the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, at the declaration of war in September 1939, military engagement with the Red Army was still a very real and imminent possibility. In this book, Muller takes us behind the scenes of the Wehrmacht High Command, providing a fascinating insight into an unknown story of World War II.Trade ReviewThe Unknown Eastern Front demonstrates that history - especially of a highly sensitive issue like this one - is rarely about neat binary categories of black and white, good and evil.' Roger Moorhouse, TLS 'In lifting the veil with which history has shrouded these men, Muller - has opened up a new vista on a largely forgotten, and sometimes deliberately neglected, but crucial aspect of recent history.' Nigel Jones, Spectator 'The Unknown Eastern Front demonstrates that history - especially of a highly sensitive issue like this one - is rarely about neat binary categories of black and white, good and evil.'Roger Moorhouse, TLS 'In lifting the veil with which history has shrouded these men, Muller - has opened up a new vista on a largely forgotten, and sometimes deliberately neglected, but crucial aspect of recent history.'Nigel Jones, Spectator ' - this is an important subject - [Muller] supplies full and useful detail on the contribution of all the different peoples who participated, with information on the numbers of soldiers and the tasks they were expected to fulfill.' Richard Overy, History Today 'A definitive work.' Die Welt; 'Mr. Muller's achievement is not only to explain Hitler's strategic thinking but also to debunk the myth of him as a master of Machiavellian deception' - Brendan Simms, The Wall Street JournalTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Introduction Germany and its Neighbours in the East A War of Intervention against the Soviet Union? A Turning Point in German-Polish Relations Preparations for War in the East Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA true story of a Halifax aircraft and seven airmen flying much needed supplies from their base in Italy to Poland to aid partisans fighting heroically during the Warsaw Uprising. It traces the lives of the aircrew and one special man, the father I never knew. It is a story of tragedy and loss, survival and discovery, of a plane shot down and Polish partisans coming to the aid of the survivors. It concludes with a long journey from California to Poland to meet families who also share a truly special connection with this aircraft.

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Book SynopsisThis is the complete wartime translation by the U.S. Navy of the 1943 edition of the official handbook given to all U-boat commanders. The original handbook was compiled from combat reports and was regularly updated throughout the war. The handbook was an invaluable reference for every operational U-boat commander.Simply written and highly accessible for a wider audience, the U-boat handbook attempted to anticipate every possible situation and to advise on suitable tactics. This superb war-time primary source is enhanced by a rare series of photographs taken on an actual combat patrol and published during the time of the Third Reich in the book U-Boot Auf Feindfahrt.Together the handbook and these rare photographs provide a fascinating glimpse into the world of the U-boats from a first hand perspective, and is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II from primary sources.This book is part of the ''Hitler''s War Machine'' series, a new military history range compiled and edited by Emmy Award winning author and historian Bob Carruthers. The series draws on primary sources and contemporary documents toprovide a new insight into the true nature of Hitler''s Wehrmacht.The series consultant is David Mcwhinnie creator of the award winning PBS series ''Battlefield''.

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Book SynopsisUpon the outbreak of the Second World War, the 97th (Kent Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery was immediately mobilised - It moved immediately to France as part of the British Expeditionery Force and in 1940 was evacuated from Dunkirk with the rest of the British Army. In 1941 the regiment was sent to Iraq with the 10th Indian Division. The division went into the Western Desert, where it suffered badly in the retreat of Alam El Haifa, and the 7th Armoured Division at El Alemein. It remained in the desert until the capture of Tobruk and Adem. After garrison duty in Cyprus, Palestine and Syria the Kent Yeomanry moved to Italy in March 1944. They served in Italy for the remaining duration of the war advancing up the North West of Italy and ending in the Adriatic coast near Trieste.The Second Line regiment 143rd (Kent Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery spent the first two years of the war in Iceland. On it''s return to the UK in 1941 the regiment joined the 49th Division and served throughout France and particularly Normandy. The regiment gave support during the D Day landings at Caen, Le Havre and Turnhaut Canal. They spent the Winter of 1944-45 by the River Maas on the Dutch German border. Their final action was at Arnhem in April 1945.

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Book SynopsisHistory of 67th Forward Regiment and a battery of 81st Anti-Tank Regiment landed from amphibious Dukws with the first wave; the remainder of the Divisional Artillery followed in Landing Ship, Tank (LST). Very good account of artillery operations at Anzio 1944-45, complete with a roll of awards and a good diagram of the beach head.

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Book SynopsisThe 6th Lincolnshire''s were in 138th Brigade, commanded by Brigadier G.P. Harding, in 46th Infantry Division which was commanded by Major-General J.L.I. Hawksworth during the Second World War''s Italian campaign..At the Salerno landings on 9 September 1943, 6th Lincs were involved in fierce fighting and completed the expulsion of the Germans from the strong-point of Magazzea. Later on the Herman Göring Panzer and Reconnaisance, and Grenadier Battalions vigourously engaged the 2nd and the Royal Marine Commandos, which were supported by the destroyer HMS Nubian. Towards evening 6th Lincs arrived, tipping the scales, and the action died down.On the night of 22nd/23rd September 46th Division cleared Cava di Terreni, but well sited enemy machine guns spoiled the attempt and neither Santa Croce nor La Molina were cleared, The 2nd/4th K.O.Y.L.I. was hit by friendly fire, as a result of which 6th Lincs on their immediate left, also fell short of their objective. The fierceness of these action can be judged by the casualties, on 23 September 2nd/4th K.O.Y.L.I. suffered 116 and 6th Lincolnshire''s 93.The next action in which they were engaged was the second battle of Monte Camino in the assault on the Bernhardt Line. This was in atrocious weather on 4/5 December 1943 with icy drizzle turning to torrential rain, and the Garigliano, the Peccia, and the Liri rivers in flood. They were in action on the precarious Garigliano bridgehead against heavy German counterattacks from 20 to 22 January 1944.On the night of 26th/27th January the 6th Lincs won a firm footing on the slopes of Monte Rotondo East, going on to capture it on the night of the 28th. In the fierce fighting that followed, on the night of 7th/8th February 6th Lincs twice reached Monte Faito and twice were pushed off it by immediate counterattacks which forced them back to Ornito. From 9 February the whole of the division went over to the defensive as the focal point of the struggle became Cassino and Anzio. On 10 September 6th Lincs were ordered to take Point 449 on the Gemmano Ridge and although badly cut up by shellfire, one company got up to the wooden cross at the top of the hill. Again and again the top of the hill changed hands. When the hill was finally taken by 2nd Cameron Highlanders "round the base of the great black crucifix at the top were the arms of a dead soldier of the 6th Lincoln''s" (quoted from R. Docherty, Eighth Army in Italy 1943-45, page 164).On 9 December the 6th Lincoln''s were again in the thick of it when 90th Panzer Division counterattacked 46 Division''s front at the Faenza bridgehead. 200th Panzer Grenadier Regiment using artillery, tanks, and infantry attacked apparently regardless of casualties, and struck 138th Brigade''s front with the brunt of the fighting falling upon 6th Lincs and a squadron of the Bays. The three companies of the Lincolnshire''s were all under strength due to previous heavy losses, but they held their ground from 7 am to just before midday when the Germans fell back. A second attack was launched at 2 pm but also failed. A third attack, made in conjunction with 305th Infantry Division was also repulsed. But 46th Division had suffered heavy casualties, had reached the end of its fighting fitness and had to be relieved.22 year old Captain John H.C. Brunt of the Sherwood Forresters attached to 6th Lincoln''s as c/o Carrier Platoon, was killed winning the VC on the bridgehead over the Lamone River on 9 December 1944, holding a vital sector of the line at Faenza facing the full fury of the above attack.This fine history covers the Tunisian as well as the Italian campaigns and comes complete with Roll of Honour, awards and the Order of Battle at the end of the war in Europe.

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Book SynopsisTHE TELEPHONE AND AUXILIARY BOOK NEWS FOR THE TROOPS AND THE TROOPS NEWS Associations: WITH M.-G. 34 LM AS-G., THE MACHINE GUN 38 AND 40 OF THE AUTOMOTIVE IND TRAINING

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