Military History

A fundamental component of Britain's early success, naval impressment not only kept the Royal Navy afloat-it helped to make an empire. In total numbers, impressed seamen were second only to enslaved Africans as the largest group of forced laborers in the eighteenth century. In The Evil Necessity, Denver Brunsman describes in vivid detail the experience of impressment for Atlantic seafarers and their families. Brunsman reveals how forced service robbed approximately 250,000 mariners of their livelihoods, and, not infrequently, their lives, while also devastating Atlantic seaport communities and the loved ones who were left behind. Press gangs, consisting of a navy officer backed by sailors and occasionally local toughs, often used violence or the threat of violence to supply the skilled manpower necessary to establish and maintain British naval supremacy. Moreover, impressments helped to unite Britain and its Atlantic coastal territories in a common system of maritime defense unmatched by any other European empire. Drawing on ships' logs, merchants' papers, personal letters and diaries, as well as engravings, political texts, and sea ballads, Brunsman shows how ultimately the controversy over impressment contributed to the American Revolution and served as a leading cause of the War of 1812.Early American HistoriesWinner of the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize for an Outstanding Work of Scholarship in Eighteenth-Century Studies

In a vivid narrative traveling from London to Paris, from Copenhagen to Havana, from Washington to Tokyo, Ship of Five Nations brings to life the incredible true story of the Stonewall, one of the first ironclads built during the Civil War.

This book introduces non-specialist readers to the history of how human societies have sought to control, use and exploit our oceans, seas and shorelines over time in different geographical and cultural contexts.

This is one of the few critical examinations of the war on the Second World War's Eastern Front that includes both perspectives and looks at the war as a multifaceted effort.

A young scholar's World War I journey from eager enlistment to profound disillusionment, reflected in poignant war poetry before his tragic death.Born in September 1891, Arthur Graeme West was a quiet and self-effacing youth with a passion for literature, who went on to become a keen Oxford scholar. When war broke out in 1914, for some time it left him untouched. However, in January 1915, in a rush of enthusiasm, he enlisted as a private in the Public Schools Battalion. From that time, until his death in April 1917, his life was a succession of training in England and fighting in France, with short intervals of leave. West joined due to a feeling of duty and patriotism, but the war was to have a profound effect on him. He developed an intense abhorrence of army life and began to question the very core of his beliefs -- in religion, patriotism and the reason for war. This growing disillusionment found expression in two particularly powerful war poems, God! How I Hate You, You Young Cheerful Men and Night Patrol, which stand deservedly alongside those of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. In August 1916, he became a second lieutenant in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Shortly after, he wrote to his CO renouncing the war and any further part in it -- but he could not bring himself to post the letter. Less than a year later, on April 3rd, 1917, he was shot dead by a sniper's bullet near Bapaume.Written with complete frankness and sincerity, Diary of a Dead Officer gives voice to West's struggle to come to terms with the realities of war and is a poignant tribute to a lost generation of soldiers.

A profound exploration of wartime morality through the experiences of a young executioner in the Polish Home Army during World War II."This book is moral dynamite. It reveals not only what men can do in war but also what war can do to men." - Norman Davies, historian and academicStefan Dąmbski joined the Polish Home Army in 1942 when he was just 16 years old. The Home Army formed the military wing of the Polish Underground, the resistance movement established to fight the Nazi occupation of Poland during the Second World War. During this occupation, the Home Army passed death sentences on hundreds of individuals - both Nazi enemies and colluding Polish compatriots. As one of the few Home Army members who volunteered to carry out these death sentences, the young Dąmbski quickly became a seasoned executioner.In July 1945, Dąmbski was transferred to the West and ended up in the United States where he remained until his death in 1993. In his final years, Dąmbski recorded his story in fascinating, shocking detail. After his death, his memoirs came into the possession of his niece and nephew before eventually arriving at the KARTA Foundation in 2005. Initially published in the original Polish, Sobieralski's translation of Dąmbski's records now gives English-language readers a hugely important insight into the mind of this seasoned executioner. Readers are made aware of the facts and actions of Dąmbski's life, but are witness to the lifelong moral struggle that accompanied these actions and led him to reflect on ideas of heroism, patriotism, guilt and on the very act of war itself.Marek Sobieralski, based in Wiltshire, regularly writes for History of War magazine and published his first book, The Katyn Diaries, in 2021. This was a collection of diaries of Polish military officers murdered by the NKVD in 1940, translated into English. He continues to work on various diverse writing projects.

The Emergency in Colour brings wartime Ireland to life in dramatic color.Through extensive research, the photos presented here have been painstakingly hand-colorized by photographer John O'Byrne, showing what life on the island was like in extraordinary times.There are over 200 photographs from across the country, many of which have never been published before, all of them accompanied by fascinating and accessible captions from historian Michael B. Barry.

Over the last decade Yemen has been the scene of warfare involving the employment of advanced air delivered weapons of Western origin by Saudi Arabia, of insurgent warfare conducted by al-Qaeda, of improvised 'technicals', and of ballistic missiles. As a result of this ongoing conflict, Yemen has become the scene of what the United Nations have described as one of the worst ongoing humanitarian disasters of modern times and in which tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced.At the time of writing Yemen has again attracted international attention as tensions in the Red Sea grow following Houthi attacks on international shipping and the consequent responses of the USA and Great Britain.In Unfinished War: A Journey through Yemen's Civil War, Egyptian photojournalist Asmaa Waguih takes us on a remarkable visual tour of Yemen, once thought of as a beautiful and mysterious land that was the realm of the Queen of Sheba, with over 150 full color photographs contrasting scenes of everyday life for the people of this nation with the effects of an ongoing conflict between rival Yemeni factions, regional powers and their proxies.

Presents firsthand accounts from British 1st Airborne Division veterans, RAF aircrew, and XXX Corps during Operation MARKET and the Arnhem evacuation.Airborne to Arnhem Volume 3 is the final volume of reminiscences of the Battle of Arnhem, Operation MARKET, 17th- 26th September 1944 published by Helion and Company. The three volumes contain over 150 personal accounts received from veterans of the 1st Airborne Division alongside those from RAF aircrew and XXX Corps.The study is the culmination of over forty years of research concentrating on the British 1st Airborne Division's role in the capture of the north end of the Arnhem bridge and the subsequent fighting around the Oosterbeek perimeter and the eventual evacuation across the Neder Rijn.Volume 3 completes the accounts from members of the 4th Parachute Brigade with 156 Parachute Battalion and the 4th Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers. In addition there are reminiscences from members of 250 (Airborne) Light Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps responsible for collecting supplies dropped by the RAF.The Royal Artillery, both 1st Airborne Division and 2nd Army in the form of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment, RA, the 1st Forward Observation Unit, RA and the 64th Medium Regiment, RA, XXX Corps are covered in detail. Interspersed throughout are additional accounts from Glider Pilots including those that delivered the glider contingent of the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade and an account from the 3rd Polish Parachute Battalion dropped around Driel.Finally the volume covers the major contribution to the entire operation made by the Royal Air Force including 38 and 46 Groups and the fighter aircraft tasked with ground support and resupply cover.After nine days under siege, the evacuation of the survivors of the 1st Airborne Division is first covered with the disastrous diversionary attack by the 4th Battalion, Dorset Regiment and the withdrawal itself with accounts from members of the 553 and 260 Field Companies, Royal Engineers, XXX Corps who were tasked along with their Canadian fellow engineers to evacuate the survivors across the Neder Rijn.Each volume in the series contains extensive chapter introductions to provide the reader with a background to the events described by the participants themselves. The entire series is lavishly illustrated with wartime and post-war photographs, many in color with detailed accompanying maps illustrating the positions of the units involved at various stages of the battle.

An account of the IV SS-Panzerkorps, an SS corps that participated in many of the key battles fought on the Eastern Front during the last year of the war.

Examines Hitler's extraordinary rise from homelessness to world leadership.Hitler's career remains one of the most extraordinary in world history. No one else has gone from sleeping on park benches to become a world leader. After the First World War he became involved in extremist politics - first on the far left and then the far right.It is often assumed that Hitler's ambitions were never realistic and his failure was inevitable. This book challenges that view and suggests a number of missed opportunities or misjudgements that might have led to a different result.Michael FitzGerald shows how Hitler's personal defects contributed considerably to Germany's defeat. In addition to the military mistakes he made a series of political, economic and foreign policy blunders were major factors in his failure to achieve his goals.

Ron Chapman's life changed on 7 September 1940, leading him to join the RAF and serve in various significant squadrons.It was the night of 7 September 1940 which changed Ron Chapman's life. It was the start of Hitler's Blitz on London. The death and destruction the German bombers wreaked across Islington and the East End so shocked and appalled Ron, that three days later he presented himself to the RAF recruiting office near Euston station. After basic training, and a few days before his twentieth birthday, he received a posting to 485 (New Zealand) Squadron - Ron was at last with an operational Spitfire squadron.After just three weeks with 485 (NZ) Squadron, he was posted to 341 (Free French) Squadron. Operating as part of the RAF's 145 Wing in 84 Group, the squadron was led by the renowned Commandant René Mouchotte DFC, while 145 Wing itself was commanded by the Battle of Britain fighter ace Group Captain 'Sailor' Malan. There was also 340 Squadron, known as 'Churchill's Own', and Nos. 329 and 345 squadrons.As a member of 341 Squadron's groundcrew, Ron Chapman's memoirs provide a unique insight into the functioning of a fighter unit from the perspective of fitters, riggers, and armourers. But, in addition, his service with the Free French fighter squadrons adds greatly to our knowledge of this important part of the RAF's history.As an element of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, 84 Group was continually moved from airfield to airfield across the South Coast. The idea was to get the squadrons accustomed to nomadic conditions. After the D-Day invasion plans were finally unveiled, the squadron's groundcrew and support staff were eventually trucked to Gosport where they boarded the landing craft that would transport them across the Channel as part of Operation Overlord. They landed at Arromanches-les-Bains in August.Ron's story then follows the actions of 145 Wing, as it battled the Luftwaffe across Europe. As the Allied forces moved eastwards, so Ron and the groundcrew moved with them through France, Belgium and finally into Germany. Ron remained with 341 Squadron until the end of the war.This book is far more than a personal memoir, it is the largely neglected story of the French fighter wing throughout the years when the 2nd Tactical Air Force moved on to the offensive against the Luftwaffe. It will undoubtedly become recognised as an important addition to the history of the RAF.

Frederick the Great's military prowess and the detailed structure of the Prussian Army, including uniforms and equipment, are vividly explored.Frederick the Great was an acknowledged master of war. Admired and studied by Napoleon, he commanded the Prussian army at sixteen major battles and numerous sieges and other actions, often leading from the front. Under Frederick the Prussian Army became arguably the most feared and efficient in Europe, often defeating numerically superior forces. Gabriele Esposito details the organization, uniforms and equipment of the various branches of service that made up the Prussian Army. Starting with the infantry, whose incredible discipline and excellent training made them the backbone of Frederick's forces he details the famous Guards and the line regiments but also the light infantry jagers and even little-known garrison and auxiliary units. Equal attention is given to the cavalry: Guards, cuirassiers, dragoons, lancers and hussars. There is also a chapter devoted to the 'technical corps' of artillery, pioneers and the like, and there are chapters on the mercenary 'freikorps' and Frederick's German allies. The whole is lavishly illustrated with beautiful colour plates.

Polish fighter pilots were crucial to RAF operations from 1939 to 1945, fighting valiantly across Europe, North Africa, and beyond.From the first combat over Poland in 1939, until Bomber Command's assault on Hitler's alpine retreat at Berchtesgaden in April 1945, when the red and white marked Mustangs escorted the bombers on their way to the target, there was no major RAF aerial operation undertaken in Europe without the involvement of Polish fighter squadrons and pilots.As well as mounting offensive sorties from the UK, Polish fighter squadrons fought in North Africa in 1943, where they added to their already formidable reputation. Some Polish airmen were even posted to the US Air Force, again proving themselves in battle.Polish fighter pilots operated over the Normandy beaches in support of the D-Day landings in June 1944. Some of the Polish squadrons were then deployed across the Channel to France, from where they undertook dangerous dive-bombing missions, while their colleagues in Britain chased the much-feared V1 flying bombs.The last Polish claims were made in April 1945, when a number of the Luftwaffe's technically-advanced Messerschmitt Me 262 jets were destroyed in a dog fight by Nos. 306 and 309 Polish squadrons. These victories marked the end of the journey that started almost six years earlier.After claiming a total of 748 enemy aircraft destroyed under British and American command, Polish fighter pilots gained a reputation for being loyal and fearsome warriors, who sacrificed nearly 550 of their own men, killed in action, wounded, missing, or captured, while fighting for the freedom that their countrymen would not enjoy for many decades.Polish fighter pilots fought in the skies from the very first day of the war until its last. As well as seeing action in Western Europe, they fought in Italy, North Africa and in Asia. The last PAF airman was killed in action on 4 May 1945. He was a fighter pilot of No. 317 (City of Wilno) Squadron. While his Spitfire was going down, not only Wilno, but the rest of Poland, was being absorbed into the Soviet Union. He died for a cause that was already lost. Nevertheless, the achievements of the Polish squadrons, man for man, rank amongst the highest of the Allied nations.

"An exceptionally well-written account of the Successor Wars entered around Perdiccas, Ptolomy, and Antipater." -- Historical Miniatures Gaming SocietyOn 11 June 323 BC in Babylon, Alexander the Great breathed his last. He left one of the largest empires the world had seen, stretching from Greece to the Punjab.Alexander the Great's death in Babylon that fateful day in June 323 BC triggered an unprecedented crisis. Within a couple of days, Macedonian blood had stained the walls of the chamber in which he died. Within a couple of weeks, Babylon had witnessed the first siege of the post Alexander age. Within a couple of months, a major revolt had erupted on mainland Greece. Within a couple of years, theaters of conflict had arisen across the length and breadth of what was once Alexander's empire.From a Spartan adventurer attempting to forge his own empire in North Africa, to a vast horde of veteran Greek mercenaries heading home from ancient Afghanistan. From a merciless, punitive campaign against some of the most infamous brigands of the time to a warrior princess raising an army and pressing ahead with her own power play during this ancient Game of Thrones. What followed Alexander's death was an imperial implosion. This book attempts to explain why it happened.

An examination of Hitler's key military generals and their contributions and failures to the Germany military.Under the surveillance of General von Seeckt the Germans re-established their military, which Hitler utilised for his aggression of recovering Germany's military greatness. This book explores some of the leading military figures. The often-ignored Field Marshal Keitel is explored, to see if there were any substance in the Allied belief that this Chief of the OKW was the driving force behind initial German success or was he merely Hitler's lackey and bureaucrat. He was derided by his contemporaries because of his unstinting Prussian obedience to Hitler.This sense of total compliance was also reflected by General Paulus, who although obedient, was reluctant to carry out Hitler's barbaric orders relating to Jews and prisoners, but otherwise was obedient and trusting of Hitler even though he knew it would lead to military disaster. It took time in a Russian prison camp to turn him against the once adored German dictator where he eventually became anti-Nazi.In striking contrast to the failed Paulus Field Marshal Manstein is examined. He was a skilled strategist and tactician and proved this in his victory in France. He lacked the social sophistication of many other leading military commanders, but he was one of the very few who had the courage to challenge Hitler's military directions and decisions. He was eventually dismissed by Hitler and postwar wrote two books to regain his reputation, despite the fact he was convicted of war crimes, and whether he deserves a pedestal remains with the reader.

Reveals the provocative and irreverent life of Dorman-Smith through his private letters and war diary, highlighting his military brilliance and conflicts with Churchill.A follow-up to the best-selling biography 'Chink', this selection from private letters and intimate war diary has the impact of a fresh 'no holds barred' autobiography. Dorman-Smith the man - flesh and blood - comes alive here on the page.Provocative, irreverent, caustic and witty, his disdain for Churchill - and for the Establishment in general - increases as his military career unravels. Egotistical? Yes. Arrogant? Certainly. His own worst enemy? Perhaps. But Dorman Smith's grasp of tactics and strategy was unsurpassed, as his exchanges with Basil Liddell-Hart demonstrate.Full of contradictions, he was externally reserved and inwardly super-sensitive. Growing up in style in Ireland and educated at public school in England, his religion was Catholic and he scorned any Anglo-Irish tag. His private life while rising up the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers proved colourful, while a brief dalliance with the IRA in the 1950s never endangered his vow of silence over the Enigma/Ultra secret.This book gives a marvellous picture of personal war experience in two world wars, from RMC Sandhurst and life in the trenches, via the Staff College to high command in Egypt and India between the wars, until service in North Africa under Wavell began, and working side by side with Auchinleck at the First Battle of Alamein. That would lead to confrontation with Churchill and Brooke, and subsequent breakout from Anzio under fire. Readers will know what it was like to survive the trenches, to serve in HQ as crises arose, and to have command involving losses - the reality of war is dramatic and moving.The First Battle of Alamein, fought under Auchinleck in the emergency that dangerous summer of 1942, was to be followed within three months by Montgomery's celebrated battle and its consequent fame. The important argument of Military Maverick, however, is that First Alamein was the real turning point in the Desert War, and that makes Dorman Smith's account even more valuable.The letters and diary entries are linked by commentary and explanation by the editor Lavinia Greacen, and by the military historian John Lee.

That section of Louisiana east of the MlsslS1Slppl rl\'er, south of the M issis'3!ppl state line, north of lakes Pontchartraln and Maurepas, extending to the Pearl River, which Includes the parishes of West Feliciana, East Feliciana, East Baton Rouge, St. Helena, Livingston, Tangipahoa, Washington, and St. Tammany-a territory once called the "County of Feliciana," Is known today by. many as the "Florida Parishes."It was the westernmost section of a land that was known for nearly half a century (1763-1810) as "West Florida" and over It flags of two European kingdoms flew, the Union Jack of England for 16 years, and the banner of Spain for 31 years. On the soil of this fruitful southern land was enacted one of the most spectacular events In Louisiana's colorful history, For the space of 74 days this part of the present state was a. free and Independent nation, with Its own governing officials, Its own army, Its own navy, lts own flag, Its own declaration ofIndependence. To secure this daring, It short-lived freedom, liberty loving Anglo-Saxon Inhabitants, many British to the backbone, literally fashioned their plowshares Into swords and, at the point of these weapons, captured a fort by force and beat down the defenders, to throw off the shackles of a hated European despotism.

Byzantine Sources for the Crusades, 1095-1204 brings together important sources on the Crusades into one volume.

"This provides fresh and renewed attention to one of the most important, fascinating, and yet oddly forgotten battles of the Civil War. Inside are original maps, new research, and dozens of images--many published here for the first time. The first in a series on the Petersburg Campaign, which will provide readers with a strong introduction to the war's longest campaign"--

The mysterious 1943 plane crash that killed Polish Prime Minister General Wladyslaw Sikorski shifted European alliances, strained Polish-Soviet relations, and led to Poland's marginalization and Soviet domination until 1990.The plane crash at the height of the Second World War which claimed the life of the Polish Prime Minister, General Wladyslaw Sikorski, ranks among the most enduring mysteries of the conflict. It was a death that shifted European alliances and loyalties, brought Stalin into the Anglo-American camp, and sealed Poland's fate for the remainder of the twentieth century.Poland and the Soviet Union's historically precarious relationship had taken an even darker turn in September 1939 when the Third Reich's Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union's Josef Stalin divided the nation and forced its government to relocate first to France and then to Britain in 1940.Sikorski's Polish government-in-exile established a military, political, and personal relationship with Winston Churchill's government, only to see it fractured by the United States' entrance into the war and the Western Allies' courtship of Stalin following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.The Allies overall support of Stalin's denials following the 1943 discovery of 20,000 bodies of Polish officers murdered and buried by the Soviets in Katyn Forest only made matters worse. Sikorski's open protests against describing the Soviet dictator as a benevolent 'Uncle Joe' made him publicly and privately 'difficult' to the new Anglo-American-Soviet coalition.As per reports of the British and Polish intelligence services, seemingly not doing enough to stand up to the Soviets had also strained Sikorski's relationship with different Polish government factions.Leaving from a layover stop at Gibraltar on 4 July 1943, having visited Polish Army units in Iran, Sikorski's RAF Liberator, AL523, crashed into the sea just sixteen seconds into its flight. while Stalin privately blamed Churchill, the Germans were more public in accusing the British. Others pointed to the Soviets or even the Poles.A British Court of Inquiry convened in 1943 presented an inconclusive report on the crash's cause or foul play and locked up most of its files until 2043. Lacking a respected leader, Poland fell out of favour with the Allies, who allowed Stalin to redraw the Polish borders and establish a pro-communist puppet state in Poland until 1990.Not only exploring what happened on that fateful day in 1943, but also the events leading up to it and those that followed, The Death of General Sikorski is more of a political thriller than a conspiracy book, telling an often complex, and enthralling story of a tragedy within a tragedy - that of a man and his nation.