Search results for ""casemate""

War in the Asia Pacific is a trilogy of books comprising a general history of the war against Japan; unlike other histories it expands the narrative beginning long before Pearl Harbor and encompasses a much wider group of actors to produce the most complete narrative yet written and the first truly international treatment of the epic conflict. Peter Harmsen uses his renowned ability to weave together complex events into an entertaining and revealing narrative, including facets of the war that may be unknown to many readers of WWII history, such as the war in Subarctic conditions on the Aleutians, or the mass starvations that cost the lives of millions in China, Indochina, and India, and offering a range of perspectives to reflect what war was like both at the top and at the bottom, from the Oval Office to the blistering sands of Peleliu.Storm Clouds over the Pacific begins the story long before Pearl Harbor, showing how the war can only be understood if ancient hatreds and long-standing geopolitics are taken into account. Peter Harmsen demonstrates how Japan and China’s ancient enmity grew in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries leading to increased tensions in the 1930s which exploded into conflict in 1937. The battles of Shanghai and Nanjing were followed by the battle of Taierzhuang in 1938, China’s only major victory. A war of attrition continued up to 1941, the year when Japan made the momentous decision for all-out war; the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted the United States into the war, and the Japanese also overran British and Dutch territories throughout the western Pacific.

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A frank account of the U.S. infantry experience in northern Europe, A Footsoldier for Patton takes the reader from the beaches of Normandy through the giddy drive across France, to the brutal battles on the Westwall, in the Ardennes, and finally to the conquest of Germany itself.Patton’s army is best known for dashing armoured attacks, its commander combining the firepower of tanks with their historic lineage as cavalry. But when the Germans stood firm the greatest fighting was done by Patton’s long undersung infantry; the foot sloggers who were called upon to reduce enemy strongpoints, and who took the brunt of German counterattacks.Michael Bilder, a member of the 5th Infantry, played a unique role in the Third Army’s onslaught. A rifleman foremost, he was also a German-speaker, called upon for interrogations and special duties. An astute observer, he relates dozens of fascinating insights into the campaign, from dealing with German snipers to intoxicated Frenchwomen, as well as relaying the often morbid humour of combat. Laughter, for example, erupts among Bilder’s unit when a hated Graves Registration officer, known for robbing the pockets of the dead, gets his hand blown off by a German booby trap.When the 5th Infantry comes up against the fortress of Metz, the battle is detailed in all its horror, as is the sudden drive into the flank of the Bulge, where the Americans face their first winter battle against enemy veterans of Russia. Incidents common to the ordinary GI, but which seldom see the light of day in histories, are routinely related in this book, enriching the reader’s sense of the true reality of World War II combat.

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This book provides a comprehensive look at air war over Europe during the climactic year of World War II, combining firsthand experience with expert analysis. The centerpiece is a mission-by-mission diary of 1st Lieutenant Richard R. Ayesh, bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress, who flew with the 100th Bombardment Group, 13th Combat Wing of the 8th Air Force-the legendary ?Bloody 100th.? He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Croix de Guerre and the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, amongst others. This book follows Ayesh's progress from his youth during the Great Depression in Wichita, Kansas, which was rapidly becoming the air capital of the nation, to his arrival in England as a Lieutenant in a bomber crew assigned to assault the Third Reich. Once in Europe, the author provides a look at the principles of American daylight strategic bombing, while relaying the overall military situation on the ground and in the air just after D-Day. This work is uniquely self-contained an

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The Luzon campaign of 1945 was the longest island campaign of the Pacific War, lasting from January 1945 to September 1945, and only ended with the surrender of Imperial Japan. It is often overlooked or mentioned in passing by most histories of that war, yet hundreds of thousands of Americans and Japanese fought in some of the worst conditions imaginable for eight months to clear Luzon of the invaders.This full account of the Luzon campaign stretches from planning stages to the end of the war and the surrender of over 50,000 Japanese troops under the noted Japanese general Yamashita. The landings at Lingayen Gulf, the Battle for Manila and the recapture of Corregidor are all included, as well as lesser-known battles for the summer capital of Baguio, the battle for Manila's water supply, constant jungle fighting, the raids to rescue Allied POWs, the recapture of Bataan, destruction of the only Japanese armored division to fight in the Pacific, American parachute drops on Corregidor and Aparri, and much more. Individual acts of heroism are highlighted as are the interactions among the senior commanders involved, including General MacArthur, General Krueger (6th Army) and General Eichelberger (8th Army). The book ends with the surrender of Imperial Japan and the end of the Luzon Campaign in September 1945.

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The memoir of a WWII tank gunner who reflects on his time in the war, and the letters he wrote home. In 1943, eighteen-year-old Walter Stitt enlisted in the U.S. Army, ready to serve his country. From his time in basic training at Fort Polk in Louisiana, throughout his time as a tank gunner in the 33rd Armored Regiment, to his post-injury service in England, he wrote home to the family he had left at home. Unbeknown to him, his mother carefully numbered and saved the letters, treasuring them until her death. This book brings together the very different two versions of Walter's war: the version that a teenage soldier could reveal to his parents and younger siblings without scaring them or invoking the censor's pen, and the full and often terrifying details of serving as a tank loader and gunner in France, Belgium and Germany, remembered so clearly eighty years later. Walter explains the forced omissions and partial truths his teenage self offered to comfort his family while he survive

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John Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniel was one of the U.S. Army’s great fighting generals of the 20th century. He began his military career with the Delaware Militia in 1914, served on the Mexican border in 1916, received a Distinguished Service Cross in World War I, was Mark Clark’s man for hard jobs in the early days of World War II, and commanded the storied 3rd Infantry Division from Anzio to the end of the war in Europe, ending the war in Salzburg after liberating Munich, and Hitler’s Berghof and Eagle’s Nest on the Obersalzberg, Bavaria, Germany. “Iron Mike “commanded I Corps in Korea 1951–1952 and ended his career as the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam in the early days of American involvement there.LTC Stoy paints a vivid picture of this great American warrior who played an important role in World War II, became an ardent anti-Communist crusader after duty in Moscow as Military Attaché 1948–1950 as the Cold War intensified, laid the foundation for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and remained an ardent supporter of President Ngo Dinh Diem while serving as Chairman of the American Friends of Vietnam from his retirement in 1956 until 1963, shortly before Diem’s assassination.

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During the Revolutionary War, forts in New York were instrumental in initiating and maintaining America’s desire for independence and helped the nascent nation to eventually prevail.These forts saw crucial, campaign-determining naval battles, and pivotal land engagements between battle-hardened well-led British troops and unproven American militia. In both land and sea engagements the garrisons deployed a range of weapons including different calibers of smooth-bore cannon, howitzers, musket, bayonets, and even tomahawks.Covering Amsterdam, Clinton, Fort Clinton at West Point, Dayton, Decker, Flagstaff, Au Fer, Brooklyn, Defiance, Franklin, Golgotha, Herkimer, Jay, Klock, Montgomery, Niagra Old Stone Fort, Salonga, Stanwix, Ticonderoga, Wadsworth, and Washington, this expert text discusses design, armament, and current status of the forts. It explores their garrisons, commanders, and the battles fought, as well as the spatial and military dependent relationships these forts had with one another.

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Throughout history there has always been a need, in military forces, for special units. In the past, these units have usually been ad hoc formations that were disbanded after their mission was complete. It has only been since the early 1950s that such units have remained active, but even in recent times special purpose, special mission units have been organised and used for a period of time or for a specific mission and then either deactivated or replaced by other units.This unique approach to the history of American special forces examines their development through a number of operations, ranging from the French and Indian War in the 18th century through to the Vietnam War. From the Son Tay raid to the Force at la Difensa and Rogers’ Rangers, the operations are diverse in both organisation and purpose, but all contributed to the overall mission of their theater or larger organisation, thus proving the continuing need for special units throughout history and even today.

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The Second Nagorno-Karabakh war – fought between Armenia and Azerbaijan between September 24 and November 10, 2020 face=Calibri>– was the first war in history won primarily by unmanned systems.This 44-day war resulted in a decisive military victory for Azerbaijan. Armenia was outfought, outnumbered, and outspent and lost even though they controlled the high ground in a mountainous region that favored traditional defense. Azerbaijan's alliance with Turkey, and close technological support from Israel, strategically isolated Armenia. In addition, Turkey's posturing influenced the Russians not to intervene to support Armenia. That Azerbaijan attacked Armenia during the pandemic was an additional factor. The fact that Azerbaijan won the war is not extraordinary, considering the correlation of forces arrayed against Armenia. What is exceptional is that this was the first modern war primarily decided by unmanned weapons. In this war the Turkish-made BAYRAKTAR TB2 Unmanned Air Combat Vehicle (UCAV) and the Israeli-made HAROP Loitering Munition (LM) dominated the fighting and provided Azerbaijan with a war-winning advantage.

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Portugal fought a bush war in Mozambique - one of the most beautiful countries in the world - for over a decade. The small European nation was ranged against formidable odds and in the end was unable to muster the resources required to effectively take on the might of the Soviet Union and its collaborators - every single communist country on the planet and almost all of sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, Al Venter argues, Portugal did not actually lose the war, and indeed fought in difficult terrain with a good degree of success over an extended period. It was radical domestic politics that heralded the end.Mozambique is once again embroiled in a guerrilla war, this time against a large force of Islamic militants, many from Somalia and some Arab countries, and unequivocally backed by Islamic State and the lessons of Mozambique’s bush war are still relevant today.

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Photo reconnaissance played a significant role during the Cold War, however it remained unknown to the public for many years because its product and methods remained classified for security purposes. While the U-2 gets most of the credit, low-level photo reconnaissance played an equally important role and was essential to target selection and bomb damage assessment during the Vietnam War. Moreover the contribution of naval aviation photo reconnaissance to the bombing effort in Vietnam is largely an untold story. This book highlights the role of the unarmed supersonic RF-8A/G photo-Crusader throughout the war, and also the part played by its F-8 and F-4 escort fighters.Veteran and historian Kenneth Jack pieces together the chronological history of photo recon in the Vietnam War between 1964 and 1972, describing all types of missions undertaken, including several Crusader vs. MiG dogfights and multiple RF-8 shootdowns with their associated, dramatic rescues. The narrative focuses on Navy Photo Squadron VFP-63, but also dedicates chapters to VFP-62 and Marine VMCJ-1. Clandestine missions conducted over Laos began 1964, becoming a congressionally authorized war after the Tonkin Gulf incident in August 1964. VFP-63 played a role in that incident and thereafter sent detachments to Navy carriers for the remainder of the war. By war's end, they had lost 30 aircraft with 10 pilots killed, six POWs, and 14 rescued. The historical narrative is brought to life through vivid first-hand details of missions over intensely defended targets in Laos and North Vietnam. While most books on the Vietnam air war focus on fighter and bombing action, this book provides fresh insight into the air war through its focus on photo reconnaissance and coverage of both versions of the Crusader.

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As historian David W. Bright noted in Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, "No other historical experience in America has given rise to such a massive collection of personal narrative 'literature' written by ordinary people." This "massive collection" of memoirs, recollections and regimental histories make up the history of the Civil War seen through the eyes of the participants. This work is an overview of what Civil War soldiers and veterans wrote about their experiences. It focusses on what veterans remembered, what they were prepared to record, and what they wrote down in the years after the end of the war. In an age of increased literacy many of these men had been educated, whether at West Point, Harvard or other establishments, but even those who had received only a few years of education chose to record their memories.The writings of these veterans convey their views on the cataclysmic events they had witnessed but also their memories of everyday events during the war. While many of them undertook detailed research of battles and campaigns before writing their accounts, it is clear that a number were less concerned with whether their words aligned with the historical record than whether they recorded what they believed to be true. This book explores these themes and also the connection between veterans writing their personal war history and the issue of veterans’ pensions. Understanding what these veterans chose to record and why is important to achieving a deeper understanding of the experience of these men who were caught up in this central moment in American life.

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The battle for Europe in 1943-45 was one of the greatest military challenges in the history of the U.S. Army. Fighting against often veteran German forces from the mountains of Italy to the beaches of Normandy and the frozen forests of the Ardennes, hundreds of thousands of US infantrymen had to move quickly beyond their training and acquire real-world combat skills with extraordinary pace, if they were to raise their chances of survival beyond a few days. They fought in an age of total war, in which the enemy deployed heavy armor, artillery, air power, and their own infantry firepower in a battle of true equals. Without the drive and blood of the U.S. Army infantry, the Allies could not have defeated the Wehrmacht in Western Europe.Extensive documentation was provided for the in-theater US Army infantryman, from booklets rather misguidedly advising on how to behave in foreign countries through to field manuals explaining core combat tactics across squad, platoon, company, and battalion levels. This pocket manual presents critical insights from many of these sources, but also draws on broad spectrum of intelligence reports, after-action reports, and other rare publications. Together they give an inside view on what it was light to live and fight in the U.S. Army infantry during arguably the most consequential conflict in human history.

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Ancient Greeks at War is a lavishly illustrated tour de force covering every aspect of warfare in the Ancient Greek world from the beginnings of Greek civilization through to its assimilation into the ever expanding world of Rome. As such it begins with the onset Minoan culture on Crete around 2,000 BC, then covers the arrival of the Mycenaean civilisation and the ensuing Late Bronze Age Collapse, before moving on to Dark Age and Archaic Greece. This sets the scene for the flowering of Classical Greek civilization, as told through detailed narratives of the Greek and Persian Wars, Peloponnesian Wars and the rise of Thebes as a major power.The book then moves on to the onset of Macedonian domination under Philip II, before focusing in detail on the exploits of his son Alexander the Great, the all-conquering hero of the ancient world. His legacy was the Hellenistic world with its multiple, never ending series of conflicts that took place over a huge territory, ranging from Italy in the west all the way to India in the east. Those covered include the various Wars of the Successors, the rise of the Bactrian-Greek and Indo-Greek kingdoms, the various wars between the Antigonid Macedonian, Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms, and later the onset of the clash of cultures between the rising power of Rome in the west and the Hellenistic kingdoms. In the long run the latter proved unable to match Rome's insatiable desire for conquest in the eastern Mediterranean, and this together with the rise of Parthia in the east ensured that one by one the Hellenistic kingdoms and states fell. The book ends with the destruction of Corinth in 146 BC after the defeat by Rome of the Achaean League. The conclusion considers the legacy of the Ancients Greeks in the Roman world, and subsequently.

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The period covered by the Old Testament - beginning in approximately 3000 BC - was one of great technological development and innovation in warfare, as competing cultures clashed in the ancient Middle East. The Sumerians were the first to introduce the use of bronze into warfare, and were centuries ahead of the Egyptians in the use of the wheel. The Assyrians developed chariot warfare and set the standard for a new equine-based military culture. The Babylonians had an army whose people were granted land in return for army service. This authoritative history gives an overview of warfare and fighting in the age of the Old Testament, from the Akkadians, Early and Middle Kingdom Egypt and their enemies, Mycenean and Minoan Greece and Crete, Assyrians and New Kingdom Egyptians, the Hittites, the Sea Peoples who gave rise to the Philistines, the Hebrew kingdom, the Babylonian kingdom, the Medes and later Persian Empires, through to early Classical Greece. Author Simon Elliott explores how archaeology can shed light on events in the Bible including the famous tumbling walls of Jericho, the career of David the boy warrior who faced the Philistines, and Gideon, who was able to defeat an army that vastly outnumbered his own.

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Fifteen elite mountain divisions and a multitude of small units fought for the Wehrmacht during World War II. They fought on all fronts, operating in hostile environments ranging from the far north to Libya, the Atlantic to the Caucasus - serving in all the “hot spots.” This book, the culmination of some four decades of research and the support of many veterans and collectors, describes the life, operations and equipment of these specialist units.

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When World War II began, the Wehrmacht had fifteen mountain divisions and a multitude of small units, including some Austrian units that had been incorporated into the German army after the Anschluss. These mountain units would operate in hostile environments on all fronts during World War II. Due to their training, equipment and adaptability, the Gebirgstruppen would be deployed to fight in almost every theater. In the last years of the war they would see action in North Africa, Italy, the Balkans, Norway and Finland, and in the West as the Allies pushed German forces back toward Berlin.This book, the culmination of four decades of research and the support of many veterans and collectors, describes the uniform, equipment, and operations of these specialist units during the later years of World War II. The text is complemented by period photographs taken at the front, including many color photographs, and modern photographs of uniform details.

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The last rites were administered to the Third Reich from the west by a massive concentration of Allied forces and firepower. With France secured, Hitler’s vain counterattack in the Ardennes held and the Channel and North Sea ports cleared, little stood in the way of the Allies other than the dominant geographical feature of western Europe: the mighty Rhine River stretching from the North Sea almost to Switzerland. In the north, the 21st Army Group executed one of the largest operations of the war: a huge airdrop backed up by an amphibious crossing that made full use of 79th Armoured Division’s specialized armour including the Alligators of 4th Royal Tank Regiment. Further south, until it collapsed under the pressure, the Ludendorff Bridge, captured intact at Remagen allowed US First Army to create a bridgehead. They would use it to good effect, wheeling north to surround the Ruhr, Germany’s industrial heartland. Further south, where the river was narrower, Patton’s Third Army vaulted the Rhine with its customary elan, as did Devers’ Sixth Army Group.Ahead of the Allies were the remains of the German forces, often no more than Volkssturm or Hitlerjugend, determined to resist for as long as possible so that their Führer had time to unleash his super weapons. In the end, these proved figments of Hitler’s imagination and the defenders crumbled in the face of units that, after nine months of training, had become deadly proponents of the art of aggressive warfare with modern, new equipment – such as the M26 Pershing and Comet – being rushed to the front in the hope it could see action before the war finished.

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Black Tulip is the dramatic story of history's top fighter ace, Luftwaffe pilot Erich Hartmann. It's also the story of how his service under Hitler was simplified and elevated to Western mythology during the Cold War.Over 1,404 wartime missions, Hartmann claimed a staggering 352 airborne kills, and his career contains all the dramas you would expect. There were the frostbitten fighter sweeps over the Eastern Front, drunken forays to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, a decade of imprisonment in the wretched Soviet POW camps, and further military service during the Cold War that ended with conflict and angst.Just when Hartmann’s second career was faltering, he was adopted by a network of writers and commentators personally invested in his welfare and reputation. These men, mostly Americans, published elaborate, celebratory stories about Hartmann and his elite fraternity of Luftwaffe pilots. With each dogfight tale put into print, Hartmann’s legacy became loftier and more secure, and his complicated service in support of Nazism faded away. A simplified, one-dimensional account of his life - devoid of the harder questions about allegiance and service under Hitler - has gone unchallenged for almost a generation.Black Tulip locates the ambiguous truth about Hartmann and so much of the German Wehrmacht in general: that many of these men were neither full-blown Nazis nor impeccable knights. They were complex, contradictory, and elusive. This book portrays a complex human rather than the heroic caricature we’re used to, and it argues that the tidy, polished hero stories we’ve inherited about men like Hartmann say as much about those who've crafted them as they do about the heroes themselves.

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During World War Two, the armed or Waffen-SS branch of the Third Reich’s dreaded security service expanded from two divisions in 1940 to 38 divisions by the end of the war, eventually growing to a force of over 900,000 men until Germany’s defeat in May 1945. Not satisfied with allowing his nascent force to be commanded in combat by army headquarters of the Wehrmacht, Heinrich Himmler, chief of the SS, began to create his own SS corps and army headquarters beginning with the SS-Panzerkorps in July 1942. As the number of Waffen-SS divisions increased, so did the number of corps headquarters, with 18 corps and two armies being planned or activated by the war’s end.While the histories of the first three SS corps are well known, the IV SS-Panzerkorps – which never fought in the west or in Berlin but participated in many of the key battles fought on the Eastern Front during the last year of the war – has been overlooked. Activated during the initial stages of the defence of Warsaw in late July 1944, the corps, consisting of both the 3. and 5. SS-Panzer Divisions (Totenkopf and Wiking, respectively) was born in battle and spent the last ten months of the war in combat, figuring prominently in the battles of Warsaw, the attempted Relief of Budapest, Operation Spring Awakening, the defence of Vienna, and the withdrawal into Austria where it finally surrendered to American forces in May 1945.Herbert Otto Gille’s IV SS-Panzerkorps was renowned for its tenacity, high morale and, above all, its lethality, whether conducting a hard-hitting counterattack or a stubborn defense in situations where its divisions were hopelessly outnumbered. Often embroiled in heated disputes with its immediate Wehrmacht higher headquarters over his seemingly cavalier conduct of operations, Gille’s corps remained to the bitter end one of the Third Reich’s most reliable and formidable field formations.

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Of the five beaches attacked on 6 June, Omaha saw the sternest fighting. Well-placed defenders on the high ground and extensive beach defenses did their job. On top of this, so much had gone wrong with the first wave: many of the amphibious DD Sherman tanks didn’t reach the beach. They were released from their landing craft too far away where the greater swell swamped them and the troops landing on Omaha missed their firepower. Another problem was that many units landed in the wrong place. Strong tides and winds carried the landing craft off line and led to confusion. Finally, the German emplacements and defenses were well-placed on high ground and the only cover on the beach face=Calibri>– the seawal – was over a killing ground. There were 32 fortified areas located between the Vire River and Port-en-Bessin: in all, 12 of these strongpoints were able to direct fire on Omaha Beach. The attacking forcesface=Calibri>–units of the US 29th and 1st Inf Divs – suffered over 2,000 casualties, many of them drowned during the approach, but led by US Rangers, themselves misplaced (they were the follow-up troops to Rudder’s Rangers who had scaled the Pointe du Hoc) the American troops pushed forward and by nightfall, they had gained hold of the beach and its immediate hinterland. Despite the casualties, 34,000 troops had been landed by the end of the day.

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This remarkable work pulls the lid off one of the legendary air forces in history at the very peak of its powerface=Calibri>–unveiling the and machines as they truly existed dayface=Calibri>–to–day, underneath the propaganda of their own regime and the scare stories of their enemies.In Hitler’s Germany, colour photography was primarily co-opted for state purposes, such as the military publication Signal, or the Luftwaffe’s own magazine, Der Adler (Eagle). But a number of men had cameras of their own, and in this painstakingly acquired collection, originally published in France, we can witness true life on Germany’s airfields during the period of the Luftwaffe’s ascendancy.Thus not only do we see famous planes such as the Me-109, Ju-87 or He-111, but the wide variety of more obscure types with which the Germans began the war. The array of Arados, Dorniers, Heinkels face=Calibri>– not to mention elegant 4-engine Condors face=Calibri>– that were initially employed in the war are here in plain sight and full colour, providing not only an insight into WWII history but a model maker’s dream.Just as fascinating are the shots of the airmen themselves, along with their groundcrews face=Calibri>– full of confidence and cheer as they bested every other air force in Europe during these years, with the single exception of the RAF’s Fighter Command in late-summer 1940. But that was no big stumbling block to the Luftwaffe, which had bigger fish to fry in Russia and North Africa the following year.In the authors’ next work, The Years of Defeat, we will see how the war turned more grim for the Luftwaffe, even as its expertise and skill at more deadly aircraft designs, increased. In The Victory Years we have a uniquely intimate view of an air force at the very apex of its capabilities.

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Today's Arab-Israeli conflict, ever-present in the news, is merely the latest iteration of an unending history of violence in the Holy Land—a region that is unsurpassed as witness to a kaleidoscopic military history involving forces from across the world and throughout the millennia.Holy Wars describes 3,000 years of war in the Holy Land with the unique approach of focusing on pivotal battles or campaigns, beginning with the Israelites' capture of Jericho and ending with Israel’s last full-fledged assault against Lebanon. Its 17 chapters stop along the way to examine key battles fought by the Philistines, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, and Mamluks, the latter clash, at Ayn Jalut, comprising the first time the Mongols suffered a decisive defeat.The modern era saw the rise of the Ottomans, and an incursion by Napoleon who only found bloody stalemate outside the walls of Akko (Acre). The Holy Land became a battlefield again in World War I when the British fought the Turks. The nation of Israel was forged in conflict during its 1948 War of Independence, and subsequently found itself in desperate combat, often against great odds, in 1956 and 1967, and then it was surprised by a massive two-pronged assault in 1973. By focusing on the climax of each conflict, while carefully setting each stage, Holy Wars allows the reader to examine an extraordinary breadth of military history, glimpsing in one volume the evolution of warfare over the centuries as well as the enduring status of the Holy Land as a battleground.

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John Brown is a common name, but the John Brown who masterminded the failed raid at Harpers Ferry was anything but common. His failed efforts have left an imprint upon our history, and his story still swirls in controversy. Was he a madman who felt his violent solution to slavery was ordained by Providence or a heroic freedom fighter who tried to liberate the downtrodden slave? These bipolar characterizations of the violent abolitionist have captivated Americans. The view that prevailed from the time of the raid to well into the twentieth century - that his actions were the product of an unbalanced mind - has since shifted to the idea that he committed courageous acts to undo a terrible injustice.The debate still rages, but not as much about his ultimate goal as the method he used in attempting to right what he considered an intolerable wrong. Are citizens justified in bypassing the normal legal or governmental processes in a violent way when they fail, in the eyes of the dissenter, to correct a wrong that touched so many? Brown’s use of violence was to strike terror in the heart of slave owners, terror that Brown hoped would intimidate them to free their slaves to ensure their families’ safety.Despite the differences between modern terrorist acts and Brown’s own violent acts, when Brown’s characteristics are compared to the definition of terrorism as set forth by scholars of terrorism, he fits the profile. Nevertheless, today Brown is a martyred hero who gave his life attempting to terminate the evil institution of human bondage. Brown’s violent method of using terrorism to accomplish this is downplayed or ignored, despite labeled by historians as America’s first terrorist. The modern view of Brown has unintentionally made him a "good terrorist," despite the repugnance of terrorism that makes the thought of a benevolent or good terrorist an oxymoron.This new biography covers Brown's background and the context to his decision to carry out the raid, a detailed narrative of the raid and its consequences for both those involved and America; and an exploration of the changing characterisation of Brown since his death.

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Unlike previous books on Ploesti, Jay Stout goes well beyond the famous big and bloody raid of August 1943 and depicts the entire 1944 strategic campaign of twenty-plus missions that all but knocked Ploesti out of the war and denied the German war machine the fuel and lubricants it so desperately needed.While Fortress Ploesti is the narrative history of the entire air campaign to deny the Ploesti oil complex to the Axis powers, Stout, who served as a Marine F/A-18 pilot in the First Gulf War, asks questions about the aerial strategy and combat history relating to this crucial campaign. He carries the ball far beyond the goal post set by all other Ploesti historians. He has gone out of his way to describe the defences throughout the campaign, and he brings in the voices of Ploesti's defenders to complement the tales of Allied airmen who brought Ploesti to ruin. He describes the role of the bombers, that of the fighters, and explains the developments in anti-aircraft defences, such as the technique of obscuring the Ploesti complex with smoke, which defined the campaign’s combat strategy. In the end, Stout's narrative describes the entire Ploesti effort for the very first time in print, and, by proxy, guides the reader through the intricacies of the entire Allied strategic bombing campaign in Europe, and all the weapons and techniques the Axis powers used to parry it. His lucid presentation of complex issues at both tactical and strategic levels is impressive.

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While surrounded by the Axis powers in World War II, Switzerland remained democratic and never succumbed to the Nazi goliath. This book tells the story with emphasis on two voices rarely heard. One voice is that of scores of Swiss who lived in those dark years, told through oral history. They mobilised to defend the country and laboured on the farms. The other voice is that of Nazi Intelligence, those who spied on the Swiss and planned subversion and invasion. Exhaustive documents from the German military archives reveal a chilling rendition of attack plans which would be dissuaded in part by Switzerland's armed populace and Alpine defences.Laced with unique maps and photos, the book is organised into four units. The first, A War of Words and Nerves, depicts how the Swiss mobilised an active"spiritual defence" of their country. The second unit, To Resist to the Death, concerns military preparations. Swiss soldiers recall an epoch when every day could have been "the day" when all hell would break lose and they would meet the enemy. Blitzkrieg plans against Switzerland devised by the German Wehrmacht in 1940 are described in detail.Struggle for Survival: Food, Fuel and Fear, the third unit, presents oral histories of daily life during the war with its shortages, alarms, and rumours. Espionage and Subversion, the fourth and final unit, covers strategic issues and intelligence activities. In total, Halbrook brings together a complete picture of the unfaltering tenacity of the Swiss at War.

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Col. Mark James Alexander was the only airborne officer to lead three different battalions into combat in World War II, successively commanding the 2nd and 1st Battalions, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, 508 PIR, of the 82nd Airborne Division. A legend in his own time, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France, and even after being seriously wounded in Normandy, insisted on playing a role in the Battle of the Bulge. Airborne Generals Gavin and Ridgway recognised Alexander’s superior battle skills and were more than happy to use him to plug holes in the ranks. His reputation excelled among the rank and file, right down to the lowest private. He led from the front, pressing the attack while simultaneously looking out for his men. In Sicily, Alexander’s battalion landed 25 miles from its drop zone, into a network of Italian pillboxes, upon which the Colonel personally directed fire. Dropped into the desperate inferno at Salerno, he refused to give ground against German counterattacks, forming his paratroopers against enemy efforts to push Allied forces back into the sea. At Normandy one seasoned lieutenant, John“Red Dog” Dolan, 505 PIR, called him “the finest battalion commander I ever served under,” after Alexander had led the 1/505 for ten days through the bloody battle for La Fière Bridge and Causeway. This memoir is based on the transcription of hundreds of hours of recorded interviews made by Alexander’s grandson, John Sparry, over a period of years late in his life. Providing valuable insight into the beloved commander who led three of the most infamous battalions in the US Army, Jump Commander also contains a wealth of new detail on 82nd Airborne operations, and casts insight on some of the most crucial battles in the ETO. This highly readable and action-packed narrative may well be the last remaining memoir to be written in the voice of a major airborne officer of the Greatest Generation.

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To many students of World War II, von Manstein is already considered to be the greatest commander of the conflict, if not the entire 20th century. He devised the plan that conquered France in 1940, thence led an infantry corps in that campaign; at the head of a panzer corps he reached the gates of Leningrad in 1941, then took command of 11th Army and conquered Sevastopol and the Crimea. After destroying another Soviet army in the north, he was given command of the ad hoc Army Group Don to retrieve the German calamity at Stalingrad, whereupon he launched a counteroffensive that, against all odds, restored the German front. Afterward he commanded Army Group South, nearly crushing the Soviets at Kursk, and then skilfully resisted their relentless attacks, as he traded territory for coherence in the East. Though an undoubtedly brilliant military leader—whose achievements, considering the forces at his disposal, cast those of Patton, Rommel, MacArthur, and Montgomery in the pale—surprisingly little is known about Manstein himself, save for his own memoir and the accolades of his contemporaries. In this book we finally have a full portrait of the man, including his campaigns, and an analysis of what precisely kept a genius such as Manstein harnessed to such a dark cause. A great military figure, but a man who lacked a razor-sharp political sense, Manstein was very much representative of the Prussian military caste of his time. Though Hitler was uneasy about the influence he had gained throughout the German Army, Manstein ultimately declined to join any clandestine plots against his Führer, believing they would simply cause chaos, the one thing he abhorred. Even though he constantly opposed Hitler on operational details, he considered it a point of loyalty to simply stand with the German state, in whatever form.

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Nam Sense is the memoir of a combat squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. Arthur Wiknik was drafted by the army in 1969 at the age of nineteen, promoted to sergeant ‘without ever setting foot in a combat zone’, and sent to Vietnam. He was flown north to Camp Evans, a mixed-unit outpost near Phong Dien, only a few miles from Laos. Wiknik was then thrown straight into the action: he was the first man in his unit to reach the top of Hamburger Hill during one of the last offensives launched by US forces, and later discovered a weapons cache that prevented a sneak attack on his advance fire support base. Between the sporadic episodes of combat he mingled with the locals and defrauded an unwitting US supplier to provide his platoon with a year of good food. This book offers a perfect blend of candour and humour – and it spares nothing and no one in its attempt to convey what really happened during this unpopular war. Nam Sense is not about heroism, mental breakdowns and haunting flashbacks: the GIs Wiknik lived and fought with during his year-long tour were there to do their duty, support their comrades and get home alive. ‘The soldiers I knew’, explains the author, ‘demonstrated courage, principle, kindness, and friendship – all the elements found in other wars Americans have proudly fought in.’ About the AuthorARTHUR WIKNIK was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968, selected to be trained as an Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and went to war in Vietnam.

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“It involves some tense moments, and these are recorded vividly in this book, including interviews with many TD veterans, plus official reports and documents.”The Tank Killers is the story of the American Tank Destroyer Force in North Africa, Italy, and the European Theatre during World War II. The tank destroyer (TD) was a bold-if some would say flawed-answer to the challenge posed by the seemingly unstoppable German blitzkrieg. The TD was conceived to be light and fast enough to outmanoeuvre panzer forces and go where tanks could not. At the same time, the TD would wield the firepower needed to kill any German tank on the battlefield. Indeed, American doctrine stipulated that TDs would fight tanks, while American tanks would concentrate on achieving and exploiting breakthroughs of enemy lines.The Tank Killers follows the men who fought in the TDs from the formation of the force in 1941 through the victory over the Third Reich in 1945. It is a story of American flexibility and pragmatism in military affairs. Tank destroyers were among the very first units to land in North Africa in 1942. Their first vehicles were ad hoc affairs: Halftracks and weapons carriers with guns no better than those on tanks and thin armour affording the crews considerably less protection. Almost immediately, the crews realised that their doctrine was incomplete. They began adapting to circumstances, along with their partners in the infantry and armoured divisions. By the time that North Africa was in Allied hands, the TD had become a valued tank fighter, assault gun, and artillery piece.The story continues with the invasion of Italy and finally that of Fortress Europe on 6 June 1944. By now, the brass had decreed that half the force would convert to towed guns, a decision that dogged the affected crews through the end of the war. The TD men encountered increasingly lethal enemies, ever more dangerous panzers that were often vulnerable only to their guns while American tank crews watched in frustration as their rounds bounced harmlessly off the thick German armour. They fought under incredibly diverse conditions that demanded constant modification of tactics. By VE day, the tank destroyer battalions had achieved impressive records, generally with kill/loss rates heavily in their favour. Yet the Army after the war concluded that the concept of a separate TD arm was so fundamentally flawed that not a single battalion existed after November 1946.The Tank Killers draws heavily on the records of the tank destroyer battalions and the units with which they fought. Veterans of the force add their personal stories.

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A vivid memoir of the Vietnam War by a crew chief who flew on hundreds of flights during his tour.

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Major General Charles A. Willoughby served as Douglas MacArthur's stalwart chief intelligence officer (G-2} for over a decade, throughout World War II and the Korean War. This first full biography examines Willoughby's shadowy origins in his native Germany, his curious arrival in the United States, and his military service in World War I, as well as his work during the interwar years as a junior diplomat, budding historian, and neophyte intelligence officer. His chance encounter with MacArthur in the mid-1930s would prove to be the genesis of a near-symbiotic relationship between the two, with significant consequences for both.Throughout his life, Willoughby identified with strong, authoritarian leaders, notably Franco, and – especially – MacArthur. The author also assesses Willoughby's performance as a professional intelligence officer both in World War II and Korea, where he is often vilified for his inaccurate assessments of enemy strength and most likely courses of action, as well as his sycophantic relationship with his commander. Willoughby is most often criticised for his failing to foresee the entry of Chinese forces into the Korean War and its impact upon the US Army and the prosecution of the war. Following MacArthur’s removal by President Truman in 1951, Willoughby retired and spent the rest of his days engaged in right-wing political activity and in staunchly defending his much-maligned boss.The legacy he left is one filled with lingering and important questions about loyalty to superiors, in civilian as well as military environments, how far that loyalty should extend, and walking the tightrope involved in telling truth to power.

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Elite units carried out many dangerous operations during the Vietnam War, the most secret and hazardous of which were conducted by the Studies and Observations Group, formed in 1964.In the years since the Vietnam War, the elite unit known as SOG has spawned many myths, legends and war stories. Special Forces medic Joe Parnar served with SOG during 1968 in FOB2/CCC near the tri-border area that gave them access to the forbidden areas of Laos and Cambodia. Parnar recounts his time with the recon men of this highly classified unit, as his job involved a unique combination of soldiering and lifesaving. His stories capture the extraordinary commitment made by all the men of SOG and reveal the special dedication of the medics, who put their own lives at risk to save the lives of their teammates. Parnar also discusses his medical training with the Special Forces.During his tour with SOG, Parnar served as a dispensary medic, chase medic, Hatchet Force medic and as a recon team member. This variety of roles gave him experience not only in combat but in dealing with and treating the civilians and indigenous peoples of that area. There is a graphic account of a Laotian operation involving America’s most decorated soldier, Robert Howard, during which Parnar had to treat a man with a blown-off foot alongside nearly fifty other casualties. It is a reminder of the enormous responsibility and burden that a medic carried.

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Specifically designed as a reconnaissance vehicle, the Ford M8 Light Armored Car was intended primarily for use by mechanized cavalry units. A total of 8,523 units were built. Able to move quickly and cover long distances without refuelling, they supported the advance of armored columns by undertaking reconnaissance. Though the thin floor armor made it vulnerable to mines, the M8 served in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. Derived from the M8 series, 3,791 M20 Armored Utility cars were built. The M20 was designed without a turret, enabling its use for more specialized purposes such as carrying personnel or artillery spotting. While the project to build the M8 launched in 1941, the first armored cars were only received by the army in March 1943. An Ordnance Department officer, Lt. J. R. Muray, is tasked with being the link between the various components of the army and the industrialists. Throughout the process of creation and production, Muray kept his notes, reports and letters - 1,500 pages of archives have enabled the author to faithfully retrace the process of creating these cars, from the first draft to the end production in June 1945.

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Rescued in the Pacific after his utility tug is sunk north of Guadalcanal, a 20-day convalescent leave in Urbana, Illinois, first throws Ensign Hal Goff into a binding relationship with Bea Colombo before the war once again sends him to serve as executive officer aboard a U.S. Navy Rescue Tug, the ATR-3X, not long after the German surrender in North Africa. Aboard the 3X, serving with four other officers, the war swiftly draws the ship into the Allied invasion of Sicily and then, with the capture of Palermo, into General Patton’s drive toward Messina, the 3X fighting off air and U-boat attacks while towing stricken ships from the invasion beaches. Within weeks of capturing Sicily, Hal and his brother officers next participate in the invasion of the Italian mainland, shepherding navy ships to and from the bitter fighting for Salerno as the Allies drive toward Naples.With the Allied advance finally stopped cold along the German Winter Line beneath Monte Cassino, Hal and his ship become part of the grueling invasion of Anzio and the seemingly endless stalemate which takes place across Anzio’s bloody beaches. There, after months of dangerous convoy duty, escorting supply ships to and from Anzio while fighting off the continual air attacks that threaten them, a trio of Focke-Wulfs finally succeed in strafing the ship, Hal’s wounds in battle sending him back to the States for recovery and honorable discharge before he reunites with the woman whose love has kept him going. Phillip Parotti’s new novel treats his readers to gripping World War II naval action in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Hood’s Defeat near Fox’s Gap is an exceptional analysis of Confederate Brigadier General John Bell Hood’s troop movements during the battle of South Mountain. For the past 160 years, all other authors misplaced Hood’s troop positions on the Fox’s Gap battlefield by approximately half a mile. The actual location of Hood's attack reconfigures the entire placement of the competing forces in the battle and, thus, the conclusions one makes about the struggle. The failure to understand the topographical characteristics of the battlefield has led other writers to make false assumptions about Hood's movement. For the first time, this book retells the battle based on the actual geography and topography of the battlefield.

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The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States Special Forces unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. The unit conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, and conducted rescue operations to retrieve allied prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia; and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations.This book tells the story of the Teams operating out of FOB2 Kontum, near the tri-border area, in 1968–69. From recon missions over the fence to the heroic, and sometimes fatal efforts undertaken to try and rescue missing SOG members, the events are told through the words of the men themselves, supported by previously unreleased official documents.

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Summer 1942, and the nascent French Resistance is asking the Allies for help as they become increasingly active against the German occupiers. Their requests for arms and equipment are urgent, but the Allies are hesitant to respond until they know more about the willingness of the French to fight. The decision is made to parachute special operatives face=Calibri>– Jedburghs – into France to determine the state of the Resistance. The Jedburghs follows one of these clandestine three-person commando team attached to the super-secret British Special Operations command. The team parachutes into Nazi-occupied France to lead the local Resistance forces in conducting sabotage and guerrilla warfare against the German occupiers in a deadly kill or be killed series of sabotage operations.The specially selected team members – a combat-hardened U.S. Marine, a tough-as-nails French commando, and a female French émigré out for revenge face=Calibri>– must first undergo a series of tests and field operations to determine if they have what it takes to be a behind-the-lines agent. In the process they develop an unbreakable bond of loyalty that unites them as they lead the fractious members of the Resistance against the battle-hardened Germans and face the ultimate test of loyalty when one of their number is captured.

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During the April 2004 fights throughout Iraq, most media attention was focused on the city of Fallujah. However, at the same time, out on the border with Syria in and around the city of Husaybah, fighting was equally intense.This book tells the story of that period through many first-person accounts of intense fighting in the town of Husaybah, Iraq, during. It is based on interviews with Marines at all levels of the fight, from battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Matt Lopez, USMC, to infantrymen and squad leaders. When the Lima Company commander Captain Richard Gannon (Call sign Lima 6) was killed on entry to an enemy-held building, the company’s executive officer, Lieutenant Dominique Neal (Lima 5) informed his Marines that he had assumed command with the radio message, “Lima 5 is now Lima 6.” It also details the heroic actions of Corporal Jason Dunham who saved the Marines around him by covering an enemy grenade with his body.

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The last year of the war saw Russian offensives that cleared the Germans out of their final strongholds in Finland and the Baltic states, before advancing into Finnmark in Norway and the east European states that bordered Germany: Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. By spring 1945 the Red Army had reached to Vienna and the Balkans, and had thrust deep into Germany where they met American, French and British troops advancing from the west. The final days of the Third Reich were at hand. Berlin was first surrounded, then attacked and taken. Hitler's suicide and his successors' unconditional surrender ended the war. For writers and historians who concentrate on the Western Allies and the battles in France and the Low Countries, the Eastern Front comes as a shock. The sheer size of both the territories and the forces involved; the savagery of both weather and the fighting; the appalling suffering of the civilian populations of all countries and the wreckage of towns and cities - it's no wonder that words like armageddon are used to describe the annihilation. Red Army into the Reich combines a narrative history, contemporary photographs and maps with images of memorials, battlefield survivors and then & now views. It may come as a surprise to the western reader to see how many memorials there are to Russia's Great Patriotic War and those to the losses suffered by the countries who spent so long under the murderous Nazi regime.

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Hal Moore, one of the most admired American combat leaders of the last 50 years, has until now been best known to the public for being portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie "We Were Soldiers." In this first-ever, fully illustrated biography, we finally learn the full story of one of America's true military heroes. A 1945 graduate of West Point, Moore's first combats occurred during the Korean War, where he fought in the battles of Old Baldy, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hill. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Moore commanded the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry in the first full-fledged battle between U.S. and North Vietnamese regulars. Drastically outnumbered and nearly overrun, Moore led from the front, and though losing 79 soldiers, accounted for 1,200 of the enemy before the Communists withdrew. This Battle of Ia Drang pioneered the use of "air mobile infantry" - delivering troops into battle via helicopter - which became the staple of U.S. operations for the remainder of the war. He later wrote of his experiences in the best-selling book, We Were Soldiers Once…and Young. Following his tour in Vietnam, he assumed command of the 7th Infantry Division, forward-stationed in South Korea, and in 1971, he took command of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, California. In this capacity, he oversaw the US Army's transition from a conscript-based to an all-volunteer force. He retired as a Lieutenant General in 1977. At this writing, Hal Moore is 90 years old and living quietly in Auburn, Alabama. He graciously allowed the author interviews and granted full access to his files and collection of letters, documents, and never-before-published photographs.

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For the first two weeks of the Easter Offensive of 1972, the 571st Military Intelligence Detachment provided the only pertinent collateral intelligence available to American forces. Twice daily, the Detachment provided intelligence to the USS Buchanan (DDG-14), US Navy SEALS and Special Forces units including tactical and strategic forecasts of enemy movements, information that was otherwise unavailable to U.S. units and advisors in-country.In the weeks before the offensive, vital agent reports and verbal warnings by the 571st MI Detachment had been ignored by all the major commands; they were only heeded, and then only very reluctantly, once the Offensive began. This refusal to listen to the intelligence explains why no Army or USMC organizations were on-call to recover prisoners discovered or U.S. personnel downed behind enemy lines, as in the BAT-21 incident, as the last two Combat Recon Platoons in Vietnam had been disbanded six weeks before the offensive began. The lessons and experiences of Operation Lam Son 719 in the previous year were ignored, especially with regard to the NVA’s tactical use of tanks and artillery. In his memoir, Bob Baker, the only intelligence analyst with the 571st MI Detachment in 1972, reveals these and other heroics and blunders during a key moment in the Vietnam War.

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Ensign Ash Miller USNR, having survived the sinking of his first ship, is promoted and assigned to command one of the sleek new additions to "the splinter fleet," a 110-foot wooden submarine chaser armed with only understrength guns and depth charges. His task is to bring the ship swiftly into commission, weld his untried crew into an efficient fighting unit, and take his vessel to sea in order to protect the defenseless Allied merchant vessels which are being maliciously and increasingly sunk by German U-Boats, often within sight of the coast. Ash rises to the deadly challenge he faces, brings his crew of three officers and 27 men to peak performance, and meets the threats he faces with understated courage and determination, rescuing stricken seamen, destroying Nazi mines, fighting U-Boats, and developing both the tactical sense and command authority that will be the foundation upon which America's citizen sailors eventually win the war. During rare breaks in operations, provided for upkeep and overhaul, Ash enters a developing relationship with the spirited Claire Morris who, as he learns, embodies the peaceful ideal for which he has been fighting.

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“Colonel Thomas Yarborough spent his time in the air over the A Shau Valley, but hehas detailed knowledge of what took place on the ground. He insightfully covers theinfantryman's hardships, difficulties, and physical price paid. Thanks to his extensiveresearch, study, and personal knowledge, Tom describes the nine-year war in the AShau in riveting detail. This book is a ‘must read’ for all interested in why we did notclose and win that war.” - Wesley L. Fox, Colonel USMC (Ret), Medal of Honorrecipient and author of Marine Rifleman: Forty-Three Years in the Corps"Tom Yarborough provides a gripping, fast paced, page-turning account of America'sfinest warriors who fought in and above the most strategically important terrain inVietnam. A masterful blend of history, national strategy, and warrior ethos whichsimultaneously highlights leadership attributes at every level. A must read for allwarriors, scholars, and students of leadership. Additionally, it is a great tribute to thewarriors who fought, and those who died, in the A Shau Valley." - General H. HughShelton, U.S. Army (Ret), A Shau veteran, 14th Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, andauthor of Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior"... this is the first volume that looks solely at fighting in the A Shau during virtually theentire Vietnam War. It is a worthy endeavor." - The VVA Veteran"... arguably the first full length account of American combat in the valley, stands as asterling testament to the extraordinary courage- no less than 15 Medals of Honorwere awarded for actions in and around the valley- displayed by the men who foughtand died there." - Vietnam Magazine"The North Vietnamese Army and the US Army clashed frequently in this strategicvalley near the Ho Chi Min trail. The author covers the nine years of fighting thatoccurred there." - Military Heritage"This is a truly remarkable, well-written, thought-provoking book...will appeal to awide audience interested in gaining a better understanding of the Vietnam War" - OnPoint: The Journal of Army History"Yarborough's work is replete with repeated references to the valor of those whoserved in this hotly-contested section of Vietnam... Highly recommended for thoseinterested in this important part of the War in Vietnam." - Military Writer’s Society of America"A must-read book for anyone wanting to understand the success and failures of theU.S. military on the battlefields in Vietnam." - The Journal of America's Military PastThroughout the Vietnam War, one focal point persisted where the trainedprofessionals of the North Vietnamese and U.S. armies repeatedly fought head-to-head. A Shau Valor is a thoroughly documented study of nine years of American combat operations encompassing the crucial frontier valley and a 15-mile radiusaround it - the most deadly killing ground of the entire Vietnam War.

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Phoenix Rising recounts the paradoxical birth of SOF through the prism of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue fifty-two Americans held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. When terrorists captured the Embassy on November 4, 1979, the Joint Chiefs of Staff quickly realized that the United States lacked the military capability to launch a rescue. There was no precedent for the mission, a mission that came with extraordinary restrictions and required a unique force to take it on. With no existent command structure or budget, this force would have to be built from scratch in utmost secrecy, and draw on every branch of the U.S. military.Keith Nightingale, then a major, was Deputy Operations Officer and the junior member of Joint Task Force Eagle Claw, commanded by Major General James Vaught. Based on Nightingale’s detailed diary, Phoenix Rising vividly describes the personalities involved, the issues they faced, and the actions they took, from the conception of the operation to its hair-raising launch and execution. His historically significant post-analysis of Eagle Claw gives unparalleled insight into how a very dedicated group of people from the Chief of Staff of the Army to lower-ranking personnel subjugated personal ambition to grow the forces necessary to address the emerging terrorist threat - a threat which the majority of uniformed leadership and their political masters denied in 1979. The Special Operations capability of the United States today is the ultimate proof of their success.

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In late November 1942, Soviet forces surrounded General Friedrich Paulus’ Sixth Army in a pocket at the Russian city of Stalingrad. In response, the Germans planned a relief operation, Operation Winter Thunderstorm, intended to break through the Soviet forces and open the pocket, releasing the encircled units. The 6th Panzer Division was the spearhead of the German relief force. The attack started on 12 December 1942 and was aborted on 23 December after heavy Soviet counterattacks. This failure sealed the fate of the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad. This account of the operation was first published in German in 1956, written by the well-respected military historian and retired German officer, Horst Scheibert, who was a tank commander in 6th Panzer Division during the attempt. Utilising many excerpts from war diaries, and telegrams sent during operations, it is a unique account of the entire operation from the situation in mid-November through the two German offensives, the Soviet counteroffensive and ongoing fighting until early January. This book includes 16 maps from the original edition and is the first English translation of this important German account.

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The Ninth Army came into existence in May 1944, under the command of General William Hood Simpson, himself a rather unknown but highly successful ground commander. By late August, the Ninth Army was ready to join the crusade in Europe. Known by its radio call sign "Conquer," they landed at Utah Beach, France, on August 28 and 29. They were now at war and ready for their first assignment. It entered the fray in Brittany, taking over from the Third Army. The biggest port in Brittany was Brest, and operations to capture it began mid-August, with the Ninth Army completing what General Patton had begun by late September. The Ninth Army then moved to the Siegfried Line alongside the First Army. After some inter-army political maneuvering, it was moved to the north flank of the American lines and was the only American army to fight under British Field Marshal Montgomery’s command for several months, until the Rhine River was crossed, playing a small supportive role in the Battle of the Bulge. It went on to be involved in the reduction of the Wesel Pocket in cooperation with the British; the Rhine Crossing, including Operation Varsity, the airborne drop across the Rhine, the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket, and then the"Race to Berlin." The Ninth reached the Elbe River before it was stopped not by the enemy, but by high command. Following the end of hostilities the army was eventually dissolved, and the book covers the dissolution and the subsequent fate of some of its leaders.This new history of the Ninth places the contribution of this unsung army into a full history of the war in Europe in 1944-45. It covers all levels of the army’s activities from the responsibilities and duties of the higher echelon, the commanders through to combat stories of the units under its command and Medal of Honor actions.

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