Modern warfare Books
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Consolidated B24 Liberator
Book SynopsisAn engaging and well researched history of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator during World War II.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Operation Oyster WW IIs Forgotten Raid
Book SynopsisAn insightful and comprehensive historical account of a hugely successful and surprisingly overlooked Second World War operation.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Young Man Youll Never Die
Book SynopsisA unique, well-written autobiography set in some of the remotest areas of combat in WWII.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Operation Dragoon and Beyond
Book SynopsisFrom the Riviera, to the Rhine and on to the Colmar pocket, all three operations are covered in this volume by Jean Paul Pallud, and each show the action and locations in our unique then and now style.
£24.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd VillersBocage
Book SynopsisIn this book, Daniel Taylor provides a minutely detailed examination of the course of the fighting, exploring both sides of the debate, allowing the reader to evaluate the strength of the argument. Dozens of first-hand accounts are brought together and placed into a comprehensible and accurate time-line.
£28.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Churchills Atlantic Convoys
Book SynopsisComprehensive account of Allied convoy operations and German attempts to disrupt. Written by a published expert of naval operations in WW2.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Polish Air Force Fighter Aircraft 19401942
Book SynopsisPolish fighter pilots received their baptism of fire over their own country in September 1939, when they were overwhelmed by the aerial might of Germany and the Soviet Union. Despite this, they claimed over 120 enemy aircraft destroyed. When the Polish Air Force was reborn in France, the same men fought against the same enemy, yet with more experience and with better understanding of their opponents' tactics though, as the author reveals, the aircraft they flew were, in most cases, quite different.Polish airmen also proved themselves during the Battle of Britain, when 145 men from Poland, the biggest non-British contingent in Fighter Command, fought for the survival one of the last bastions of democracy. With an impressive tally of 126 enemy aircraft destroyed over Poland, and a further fifty-one in France, these men, including combat pilots, flying instructors and test pilots, had to be trained to serve under the command of the RAF. They had to learn a new language that was crucial f
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Mosquito Intruders Target Burma
Book SynopsisThe exploits of the Mosquito crews in Burma, skimming at low-level and at speed along rivers and over treetops to their targets, are the stuff of legend. Surprisingly, however, only five RAF squadrons ever flew these operations. Mosquito Intruders Target Burma explores the achievements of these intruder squadrons, as well as the costs to the men who flew and supported them.Their story starts in mid-1943, almost as soon as the fighter-bomber variant of the Mossie', the iconic de Havilland Mosquito FB VI, had been introduced to squadron service in the UK. The first challenge was to deliver the new aircraft, with its radical wooden construction, to India and build a supply chain to support it.Then, with few dual-control aircraft, they needed to train the crews to operate the Mosquito to the limits of its performance in often hostile weather over inhospitable territory against an aggressive enemy. Some crews converted from a similar low-level role to extend the reach of the impressive but
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Eyewitness at Dieppe
Book SynopsisAugust 2022 will mark the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid.
£17.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Sea Wolves
Book SynopsisSea Wolves: Savage Submarine Commander of WW2 features true stories of deeply murderous intent that lurked menacingly beneath the waves.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Sherman Tank Canadian New Zealand and South
Book SynopsisIn his latest volume in the TankCraft series Dennis Oliver uses wartime photos, extensively researched text and highly-detailed colour illustrations to cover the Sherman tanks of the Canadian, New Zealand and South African armies that battled their way up the Italian peninsula.
£999.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd From The Battle of Britain to Bombing Hitlers
Book SynopsisThe biography of an RAF pilot who flew both fighters and heavy bombers from the very first, to the very last days of the Second World War.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Mines Bombs Bullets and Bridges
Book SynopsisSuperb first hand account by a frontline bomb disposal operator.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Stalins Plans for Capturing Germany
Book SynopsisPrimary sources from inside the Soviet state apparatus, including now-inaccessible Russian archival holdings.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Churchills Arctic Convoys
Book SynopsisComprehensive account of the political and convoy operations to Northern Russia during WW2.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Italian Campaign 1943 1945
Book SynopsisThe Second World War Italian campaign in over 300 wartime photographs.
£17.09
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Churchills Spearhead
Book SynopsisThis book covers the inception, growth and employment of Britains airborne forces (parachute and glider-borne formations) between June 1940 and March 1945. It takes a comparative approach and follows tailored lines of development. Each of these lines - politics and policy, equipment and technology, personnel and training, command and control and concepts and doctrine - influence each other.The contents include:Politics and Policy: The political environment within which the major decisions were made concerning the concept of development of Britains airborne forces. Churchills personal contribution, the effect of inter-service rivalry and the influence of other government departments. Equipment and Technology: The methods and obstacles of procuring and supplying the bespoke equipment required by airborne forces. The supply of combat equipment, the provision of support aircraft and the procurement of gliders. Personnel and Training: The effort incurred to man the new force and the effect
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Rommels Ghost Division Victory in the West
Book SynopsisJune 1940. In just weeks, General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division dubbed the Ghost Division' had driven headlong through Allied forces in Belgium and France to reach the English Channel. Pushing south along the Channel coast past Le Harve, Rommel's spectacular victory at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux was crowned by the capture of Cherbourg. Following the Franco-German Armistice and a victory parade in Bordeaux, cameras rolled as Rommel re-enacted crossing the Somme for the Nazi propaganda documentary Sieg im Westen (Victory in the West).
£15.29
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Formidable
Book SynopsisThis is a highly illustrated tribute to the author's grandfather, Fleet Air Arm Steward Arthur Flint, who served aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable during WWII.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Gunners from the Sky
Book SynopsisA history of the 1st Air Landing Light Regiment (a glider-borne artillery unit) in Italy 1943 and at the Battle of Arnhem.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Gurkha Diaries of Robert Atkins MC
Book SynopsisUnique diaries of a decorated British Gurkha officer covering two significant periods of active service.
£17.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Laughter is the Best Weapon The Remarkable
Book SynopsisExceptional and unusual collection of personal anecdotes, many amusing and others serious but all entertaining.
£17.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Malaya and Singapore 194142
Book SynopsisFor the British Empire it was a military disaster, but for Imperial Japan the conquest of Malaya was one of the pivotal campaigns of World War II. Giving birth to the myth of the Imperial Japanese Army''s invincibility, the victory left both Burma and India open to invasion. Although heavily outnumbered, the Japanese Army fought fiercely to overcome the inept and shambolic defense offered by the British and Commonwealth forces.Detailed analysis of the conflict, combined with a heavy focus on the significance of the aerial campaign, help tell the fascinating story of the Japanese victory, from the initial landings in Thailand and Malaya, through to the destruction of the Royal Navy''s Force Z and the final fall of Singapore itself.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The operation /Aftermath /The battlefields today /Further reading /Index
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Downfall 1945
Book SynopsisAs the final month of fighting in Europe in 1945 dawned, the Allies embarked upon a series of mopping-up operations, destroying the last centers of German resistance as the essentially defeated Wehrmacht fought on in increasingly desperate conditions, driven by the explicit no-surrender order issued by Hitler.Yet at the same time, the Allies were already on shaky ground--as German resistance was crushed, the Allies began to eye one another nervously across a battle-torn Europe. These politically driven military decisions would have a huge impact on the future of the continent. This book traces the final operations of the war, from the liberation of Denmark, the Allied drive toward the Baltic straits, incursions in Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and engagements in Eastern and Western Germany, while also analyzing how the Allied strategies in the final days of the war were a hint of the future difficulties that would drive the Cold War.Table of ContentsIntroduction/Chronology/Opposing commanders/Opposing armies/Opposing plans/The campaign/Aftermath/The battlefield today/Further reading/Index
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC USN Battleship vs IJN Battleship
Book SynopsisIn the build-up to World War II both the United States and Japan believed their battleships would play a central role in battle, but after the Pacific War began in December 1941, the role of the battleship proved to be much more limited than either side expected. There would be only two battleship vs battleship actions in the Pacific in World War II, both of which are assessed in this engaging study. At Guadalcanal in 1942, Kirishima faced two modern US battleships, USS Washington and USS South Dakota. In the Surigao Strait in 1944, two World War I-era Japanese battleships, Yamashiro and Fuso, faced six American battleships supported by four heavy cruisers in history''s last-ever clash between battleships.Employing full-color artwork, carefully selected archive photographs, and expert analysis, former US Navy Commander Mark E. Stille examines the two head-to-head clashes between the battleships deployed by the United States and Japan in the
£15.19
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Imphal 1944
Book SynopsisIn March 1944, the Japanese Fifteenth Army launched an offensive into India from Burma. Named U Go, its main objective was the capture of the town of Imphal, which provided the easiest route between India and Burma. Whoever controlled it, controlled access between the two countries. Facing off against the Japanese was the British Fourteenth Army and its Imphal-based 4 Corps. For the next four months, over 200,000 men clashed in the hills and valley of Manipur in what has since been described as one of the greatest battles of World War II.Although numbers vary, it is estimated that some 30,000 Japanese soldiers died and 23,000 were injured at ImphalKohima in 1944 due to fighting, disease and in the retreat back to Burma. It remains the largest defeat on land ever for the Japanese Army. With fully commissioned artwork and maps, this is the complete story of the turning point in the Burma campaign in World War II.
£14.39
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Japan 194445
Book SynopsisJapan 1944-45 examines the only time in history that a major war was ended by the use of air power. It shows how the United States used a combination of industrial capability and geography to devastate Japan from the air, and why the Japanese, despite a promising start to their defense, proved unable to prevent the XXIst Air Force from destroying their country. Since the early 1930s air power advocates had claimed that aerial bombardment alone could defeat a nation. Yet by January 1945, while it had been the key to winning ground campaigns, from the German Blitzkrieg to the Allies'' advance across the Pacific, air power had failed to demonstrate their most audacious claim: that strategic bombing, by itself, could win a war.The United States sought to prove it by reducing the Japanese Home Islands'' military and industrial capability through bombing alone until they had to surrender.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Attacker's Capabilities /Defender's Capabilities /Campaign Objectives /Order of Battle /The Campaign /Analysis /Conclusion /Bibliography /Index
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Guadalcanal 194243
Book SynopsisThe campaign for Guadalcanal, which stretched from August 1942 until February 1943, centered on Henderson Field. The airfield was captured by the US on 8 August and placed into operation by 20 August. As long as the airfield was kept operational and stocked with sufficient striking power, the Japanese could not run convoys with heavy equipment and large amounts of supplies to the island. Instead, they were forced to rely on night runs by destroyers which could not carry enough men or supplies to shift the balance decisively against the American garrison on the island. The American air contingent on the island, named the Cactus Air Force', comprised Marine, Navy and Army Air Force units. It had the challenging mission of defending the airfield against constant Japanese attacks, and more importantly, of striking major Japanese attempts to reinforce the island. The mission of neutralizing Henderson Field fell primarily to the Imperial Navy's Air Force flying out of airfields in theTable of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Attacker's Capabilities /Defender's Capabilities /Campaign Objectives /Order of Battle /The Campaign /Analysis /Conclusion /Bibliography /Index
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The British Home Guard Pocketbook
Book Synopsis''The Home Guards are an attacking force lying in wait for, and ready to destroy, any enemy who dares to set foot on out shores.'' The Home Guard has been immortalised in British culture in the TV series Dad''s Army. Formed by men not eligible for active service too old, too young, in reserved occupations vital to the war effort who were expected to resist a German invasion with any resources they had to hand, the Home Guard is the embodiment of plucky British resolve against the odds.The British Home Guard Pocketbook evokes this spirit. Written by Brig-Gen Green, commanding 4th battalion, Sussex Home Guard and Training Adviser for the Sussex Zone, this book is based on his experience and, in his own words, ''is the result of my ransacking the dusty pigeon-holes of memory and the condensation of many books, official instructions and writings''. Its tone is informal and colloquial: ''March discipline. Troops will always march off the parade ground at
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Z Special Unit
Book SynopsisLeading expert Gavin Mortimer tells the remarkable origin story of a wartime special forces unit that defied the odds.Z Special Unit, one of the most intrepid but arguably the most unsung of Allied Special Forces of the Second World War waged a guerrilla war against Japan for two years in the south-west Pacific. On some of their 81 operations Z Special Unit slipped into enemy harbours in canoes and silently mined ships before vanishing into the night; on others they parachuted into the dense Borneo jungle to fight with headhunters against the Japanese and on one occasion they landed on an Indonesian island and smuggled out the pro-Allied sultan from under Japanese noses. The Japanese weren''t the only adversary that Z Special Unit encountered in the brutal terrain of the Pacific. In the mango swamps of Borneo and the dense jungle of Papua New Guinea they were faced with venomous snakes, man-eating crocodiles and deadly diseases. But it was the enemy soldiers who proved the mosTrade ReviewWith superb production standards and lots of interesting photos, this is an intriguing look at the chaotic world of spec ops down under. * The Armourer *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Stirling effort Chapter 1: Lyon hearted Chapter 2: Operation Jaywick Chapter 3: An Old Krait Chapter 4: ‘Good luck and God’s Speed’ Chapter 5: Singapore Struck Chapter 6: The Wizards of Oz Chapter 7: Another Crack Chapter 8: Sleeping Beauties Chapter 9: Pirates and Porpoise Chapter 10: Tiger Hunting Chapter 11: 'A blow to us all' Chapter 12: Jungle Challenge Chapter 13: Allies and Headhunters Chapter 14: Guerrilla Army Chapter 15: Victory in Borneo Chapter 16: Savage Revenge Chapter 17: The Elusive Truth Epilogue: 'War’s pretty grim' Index
£21.25
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Russias Wars in Chechnya
Book SynopsisWritten by a leading expert on modern Russia, this is an illustrated introduction to the bitter campaigns in Chechnya.In this new edition of his popular 2014 work, Mark Galeotti traces the progress of the wars in Chechnya, from the initial Russian advance through to urban battles such as Grozny, and the prolonged guerrilla warfare in the mountainous regions. Bringing the book up to date, including a revised introduction and new content on the Kadyrovtsy's role in Russia's other conflicts, Galeotti assesses how the wars have torn apart the fabric of Chechen society and their impact on Russia itself.Featuring full-colour maps and 50 new images, and drawing upon a wide range of sources, this succinct account explains the origins, history and consequences of Russia''s wars in Chechnya, shedding new light on the history and prospects of the troubled region.Table of ContentsIntroduction Background to War Warring Sides Outbreak The Fighting The World Around War How the War Ended Conclusion and Consequences Chronology Further Reading Index
£11.69
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Hitlers Spanish Division
Book SynopsisContains over fifty full-colour drawings of the various uniforms and insignia. Tells the story of a little-known part of the war on the Eastern Front.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Commandant of Auschwitz
Book SynopsisDescribed as one of the greatest mass-murderers in history, Rudolf Hoss, was born in Baden-Baden on 11 December 1901.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd With Paulus at Stalingrad
Book SynopsisThe inside story of Stalingrad from the viewpoint of the German high command
£14.24
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Vanishing: The Twilight of Christianity in
Book Synopsis**Longlisted Moore Prize for Human Rights Writing** 'A tragic portrait of a disappearing world, created with passion and literary grace' SALMAN RUSHDIE ‘Janine di Giovanni is a humane and persistent witness’ HISHAM MATAR 'Profoundly moving' MARK TULLY _______________________ The Vanishing reveals the plight and possible extinction of Christian communities across Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine after 2,000 years in their historical homeland. Some of the countries that first nurtured and characterized Christianity - along the North African Coast, on the Euphrates and across the Middle East and Arabia - are the ones in which it is likely to first go extinct. Christians are already vanishing. We are past the tipping point, now tilted toward the end of Christianity in its historical homeland. Christians have fled the lands where their prophets wandered, where Jesus Christ preached, where the great Doctors and hierarchs of the early church established the doctrinal norms that would last millennia. From Syria to Egypt, the cities of northern Iraq to the Gaza Strip, ancient communities, the birthplaces of prophets and saints, are losing any living connection to the religion that once was such a characteristic feature of their social and cultural lives. In The Vanishing, Janine di Giovanni has combined astonishing journalistic work to discover the last traces of small, hardy communities where ancient rituals are quietly preserved amid 360 degree threats. Full of faith and hope, di Giovanni's riveting personal stories make a unique act of pre-archeology: the last chance to visit the living religion before all that will be left are the stones of the past.Trade ReviewA tragic portrait of a disappearing world, created with all of the great Janine di Giovanni’s passion and literary grace -- Salman RushdieJanine di Giovanni, a former winner of the Courage in Journalism prize, is a shining example of the dwindling band of investigative reporters -- Martin Chilton * independent.co.uk *di Giovanni brings a compassionate perspective to her narrative, interweaving complex, sometimes dense history with evocative vignettes and interviews * Economist *Extraordinary ... di Giovanni has a fine way of capturing landscapes and people * Spectator *Janine di Giovanni is a humane and persistent witness who knows when to stand out of the way, has a unique ability to be both unflinching and tender and, most importantly, never forgets that war is always a human tragedy. And because the story of Arab Christians is also the story of the Arab Middle East, the book is a record of the painfully fractured region, the consequences of war and foreign intrusion, of which its peoples, of all faiths, but particularly its minorities, have suffered most -- Hisham MatarProfoundly moving -- Mark TullyJanine di Giovanni’s beautifully written and deeply researched study of Christian communities in Iraq, Gaza, Syria, and Egypt is important not only for what it reveals about those vital but largely effaced communities, but also for its careful examination of an issue that is far more complex - as so much is in the Middle East - than typically presented or understood … A compelling and powerful study -- Sara RoyGorgeously written and deeply felt -- Elle HardyJanine di Giovanni, a former winner of the Courage in Journalism prize, is a shining example of the dwindling band of investigative reporters * independent.co.uk *Each book of hers should be required reading … In addition to contextualising the conflicts, Janine shared the human stories … She exposes what we find so hard to confront in humanity * Tablo, The Secret Life of Writers *Moving and insightful * Catholic Herald *The Vanishing is unique because di Giovanni is not seeking a solution, and indeed knows there may not be one. As a war reporter for 30 years she knows the reality of man ... I like The Vanishing because it’s true, and people in the West need to read the truth, even if they don’t like it and can’t do anything about it * First Things *Praise for Janine di Giovanni: It is crucial to reveal the human stories behind the news - and Janine di Giovanni does this with heartbreaking eloquence -- Elif Shafak * Financial Times *Like the work of the Belarussian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, Ms. di Giovanni’s book gives voice to ordinary people living through a dark time in history * New York Times *Such reporters as Giovanni, who not only visit but also live (and often die) through wars not their own, are heroic -- Robin Yassin-Kassab * Guardian *Few writers can match her evocations of individual suffering in wartime * Newsweek *Compelling reportage at its best * Economist *Janine di Giovanni has described war in a way that almost makes me think it never needs to be described again -- Sebastian JungerRead this book and you may begin to understand what war looks and feels like * Spectator *Janine di Giovanni writes with unblinking courage about war, death, marriage, motherhood, loss, love, redemption, fear - indeed, about all the world's most pressing risks and dangers ... Her writing here (as ever in her remarkable career) is a great and important achievement -- Elizabeth Gilbert
£10.44
Pen & Sword Books Ltd El Alamein 1942: Turning Point in the Desert
Book SynopsisThe Battle of El Alamein is well established as a pivotal moment of the Second World War. Following the wildly fluctuating fortunes of the opposing sides, there was a real risk that Rommel s Afrika Korps and his Italian allies would break through and seize Cairo with catastrophic strategic and political implications for the Allies. That this never happened is, of course, well known but, as this highly readable yet authoritative work reveals, there were moments of extreme peril and anxiety. Churchill s bold, nay desperate, decisions concerning key appointments, Montgomery s stubborn refusal to be rushed, Rommel s chronic logistic problems and critical air superiority are all examined in expert detail. The author s description of the actual fighting is brought to life by personal accounts as well as his complete grasp of the plan and tactics involved. The result, seventy-five years on, is a delightfully fresh and fascinating account of one of the iconic battles, not just of the War but in military history.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Female Railway Workers in World War II
Book SynopsisDuring World War II women took on railway roles which were completely new to females. They worked as porters and guards, on the permanent way, and in maintenance and workshop operations. In this book Susan Major features the voices of women talking about their wartime railway experiences, using interviews by the Friends of the National Railway Museum. Many were working in 'men's jobs', or working with men for the first time, and these interviews offer tantalising glimpses of conditions, sometimes under great danger. What was it about railway work that attracted them? It's fascinating to contrast their voices with the way they were portrayed in official publicity campaigns and in the light of attitudes to women working in the 1940s. These women talk about their difficulties in a workplace not designed for women-no toilets for example, the attitudes of their families, what they thought about American GIs and Italian POWs, how they coped with swearing and troublesome colleagues, rules about stockings. They describe devastating air raids and being thrust into tough responsibilities for the first time. This book fills a gap, as most books on women's wartime roles focus on the military services or industrial work. It offers valuable insights into the perceptions and concerns of these young women. As generations die out and families lose a direct connection, it becomes more important to be able to share their voices with a wider audience.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Hitler's Girls: Doves Amongst Eagles
Book SynopsisHitler's Girls is not just another Hitler Youth history book. Concentrating purely on the role of German girls in Hitler s Third Reich, we learn of their home lives, schooling, exploitation and eventual militarisation from first-hand accounts of women who were indoctrinated into the Jung Madel and Bund Deutcscher Madel as young girls. From the prosperous beginnings of 1933 to the cataclysmic defeat of 1945, this insightful book examines in detail their specific roles as defined by the Nazi state. Few historical literary works have gone as deep to find the truth, the conscience and the regret, and in this sense Hitler's Girls is a unique work unlike any other so far published. Written in an attempt to provide a definitive voice for this unheard generation of German females, it will leave the reader to decide for themselves whether or not the girls were the obedient accessories to genocide, and it will lead many readers to question many aspects of what they have previously thought about the role of girls and young women in Hitler s Third Reich. This is their story.
£999.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Men Who Flew the Halifax
Book SynopsisThis is the story of the air war over Western Europe, much of it told by the Halifax pilots and air crew who took part. It spans the period between 1942 and 1945 and covers the encounters between the Luftwaffe and the air forces of Britain and the Commonwealth. Many unique experiences are recounted from the day bombing raids that were hurled against Hitler's war machine. The author has sought the experiences of RAF and German fighter pilots, who explain how they stalked their prey and pounced from. This book contains vivid accounts of some of the most heroic actions in the history of air warfare.
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Dieppe 1942: Operation Jubilee A Learning
Book SynopsisOn 19 August 1942, an Allied amphibious raid took place on the coastal town of Dieppe in northern France, when a force of some 6,500 infantry soldiers, predominantly Canadian, and supported by a number of tanks were landed by ships of the Royal Navy under a blanket of cover provided by the RAF. The official reason for the raid was to capture the town's port, gather relevant intelligence, and destroy a number of coastal defences, port structures and other identified buildings. Allied authorities believed the raid would not only provide a much-needed boost to Allied morale, but also demonstrate to Stalin that Britain and the United States were serious in their commitment to opening a second front, in order to help the Soviet army fighting on the Eastern Front. It has also been suggested that the real reason for the raid was to capture a new German 4-rotor Enigma code machine, along with related code books. Whatever the reasons for the raid, it was an unmitigated failure. The German defences were more formidable than intelligence reports suggested they would be, Allied aerial and naval support was insufficient, meaning soldiers were unable to achieve their objectives, and most of the tanks failed to make it off the beaches. Indeed, due to the unexpected mounting casualties, the decision was taken to cut short the raid and evacuate the remaining men.
£18.70
Pen & Sword Books Ltd German Reconnaissance and Support Vehicles
Book SynopsisThe Wehrmacht used reconnaissance and support vehicles widely in the Second World War and this book sets out to show the full range of both categories using over 200 rare images and descriptive text and captions in true Images of War Series fashion. Both tracked and wheeled vehicles were employed for reconnaissance and screening. These included light tanks mainly comprising of the Pz.Kpfw.I, armoured cars such as the six and eight wheeler Sd.Kfz.231,232,233,234 and its variants, 263, the Sd.Kfz.221,222,223,234 and 247, motorcycles such as the famous BMW R75, the Zundapp KS750. In addition to their recce role they would, when possible, engage similar or light units. Support vehicles such as the tracked Sd.Kfz.2 Kettenkrad, and the renowned Sd.Kfz.251 halftracks were used in the follow-up role, frequently with mounted grenadiers to mop up over-run enemy positions. The book fills a gap by outlining the full range of such equipment including the variety of armaments and power plants, and the crews that performed these missions.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd 6th SS Mountain Division Nord at War 1941-1945:
Book SynopsisDrawing on a superb collection of rare and unpublished photographs the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord 1941 - 1945 is the 6th book in the Waffen-SS Images of War Series compiled by Ian Baxter. The book tells the story of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, which was formed in February 1941 as SS Kampfgruppe Nord (SS Battle Group North). The Division was the only Waffen-SS unit to fight in the Arctic Circle when it was stationed in Finland and northern Russia between June and November 1941\. It fought in Karelia until the Moscow Armistice in September 1944, at which point it left Finland. It suffered heavy losses in the Operation Nordwind in January 1945 and in early April 1945, the division was destroyed by the US forces near Budingen, Germany.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Early Jet Fighters: British and American 1944 -
Book SynopsisIn almost 200 archive photographs Leo Marriott traces the course of the development of British and American jet fighters during the first pioneering decade of their production. In many ways the period from 1944 to 1954 was one of the most exciting and innovative in the history of military aviation. Rare images show the first jet fighters flown by the RAF towards the end of the Second World War and takes the story forward to the most advanced designs that played a key role in the war in Korea. The range of experimental and operational warplanes that were conceived and built during this short time was remarkable. The initial straight-wing jets began with the Gloster Meteor and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star which were later superseded by the first operational swept-wing fighters such as the Hawker Hunter, North American F-86 Sabre and Grumman F9F-6 Cougar. Development of all these benefited greatly from German Second World War advances in aerodynamics that were exploited by the British and Americans when the war ended. Progress was so swift that, by the mid-1950s, the prototypes of the next generation of truly supersonic fighters were starting to appear, and these are featured in Leo Marriott's fascinating selection of images. He even includes a variety of prototypes which for various reasons did not result in production orders, as well as several unusual concepts such as flying boat fighters and mixed-power designs. Early Jet Fighters: British and American 1944-1954 is a graphic and informative introduction to an extraordinary stage in the evolution of the modern warplane.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities
Book SynopsisThe Holocaust is without doubt one of the most abhorrent and despicable events not only of the Second World War, but of the twentieth century. What makes it even more staggering is that it was not perpetrated by just one individual, but by thousands of men and women who had become part of the Nazi ideology and belief that Jews were responsible for all of their woes. This book looks at the build up to the Second World War, from the time of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, as the Nazi Party rose to power in a country that was still struggling to recover politically, socially and financially from the aftermath of the First World War, whilst at the same time, through the enactment of a number of laws, making life extremely difficult for German Jews. Some saw the dangers ahead for Jews in Germany and did their best to get out, some managed to do so, but millions more did not. The book then moves on to look at a wartime Nazi Germany and how the dislike of the Jews had gone from painting the star of David on shop windows, to their mass murder in the thousands of concentration camp that were scattered throughout Germany. As well as the camps, it looks at some of those who were culpable for the atrocities that were carried out in the name of Nazism. Not all those who were murdered lost their lives in concentration camps. Some were killed in massacres, some in ghettos and some by the feared and hated Einsatzgruppen.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd SS Einsatzgruppen: Nazi Death Squads, 1939-1945
Book SynopsisIn June 1941, Adolf Hitler, whose loathing of Slavs and Jewish Bolsheviks knew no bounds, launched Operation Barbarossa, throwing 4 million troops, supported by tanks, artillery and aircraft into the Soviet Union. Operational groups of the German Security Service, SD, followed into the Baltic and the Black Sea areas. Their orders: neutralize elements hostile to Nazi domination. Combined SS and SD headquarters were set up in Riga (northern), Mogilev (middle) and Kiev (southern), each with subordinate units of the SD, the Einsatzgruppen, and lower echelons of Einsatzkommandos. Communist and Soviet NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) agents were targeted, and from August 1941 to March 1943, 4,000 Soviet and communist agents were arrested and executed. In addition, far greater numbers of partisans and communists were shot to ensure political and ethnic purity in the occupied territories. Einsatzgruppe A, under Adolf Eichmann, executed 29,000 people-listed as 'Jews' or 'mostly Jews'-in Latvia and Lithuania in the early stages of the operation. In the Einsatzgruppe C report for September 1941, there is a comment, '50,000 executions �foreseen� in Kiev'. In five months in 1941, Einsatzkommando III commander, Karl Jager, reported killing 138,272 (48,252 men, 55,556 women and 34,464 children). The Einsatzgruppen were death squads-their tools the rifle, the pistol and the machine gun. It is estimated that the Einsatzgruppen executed more than 2 million people between 1941 and 1945, including 1.3 million Jews.
£12.34
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Panzers on the Vistula: Retreat and Rout in East
Book SynopsisHans Schaufler fought as the commander of a Jagdpanther tank destroyer in rearguard actions against the Red Army in East Prussia in 1945\. Then, as an infantryman, he took part in the doomed defence of Danzig and made a daring escape across the Baltic in a small boat. This is his story, and it is the story of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians who were caught up in the chaos and tragedy of the German retreat. His eyewitness account is one of the most revealing records we have of the experience of the collapse of the Third Reich in the east. As well as giving a vivid insight into the German army's tactics as they fell back before the Soviet advance, he describes the appalling conditions and the fear and panic that gripped the city. Acute shortages of men, equipment, ammunition and fuel crippled the defence, but extraordinary resilience, heroism and ingenuity still motivated the soldiers who were fighting for a lost cause and facing certain defeat.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Camouflage: Modern International Military
Book SynopsisA comprehensive, accurate, and academically-supported reference of all of the major military and paramilitary camouflage patterns that have been in use around the world from the end of World War Two to today. This book will be a one-stop, generalized reference illustrating as many patterns as have been researched into the present time period. It will surpass all previous efforts. In addition to color tiles illustrating camouflage patterns it will include photographs of the designs actually being worn by military and paramilitary personnel, something few other references have done in suitable combination.
£40.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Battle for Warsaw, 1939-1945: Rare
Book SynopsisDuring the Second World War five brutal battles were fought in and around Warsaw. Each proved to be dramatic, decisive and bloody, and in this volume of the Images of War series Anthony Tucker-Jones records them all in graphic detail. The first occurred in 1939 when the Polish army was defeated by the German invaders, and five years of occupation followed. The second was sparked by the Jewish Ghetto Uprising in 1943 which was ruthlessly suppressed by 1,200 SS troops and led to the deaths of 13,000 people. In the third the Red Army's advance was beaten back at the gates of the city in the summer of 1944 and the fourth was fought at the same time when the Nazis crushed the rising of the Polish Home Army and sought to destroy the city in an act of revenge. The failure of the rising consigned the country to decades of communist rule. The photographs and the detailed narrative give the reader a powerful impression of the experience of the people of Warsaw during this tragic period in their history and document the widespread devastation the fighting left in its wake.
£13.49
