Military History

Labour in Transition (1992) examines the massive transformations undertaken by state socialist regimes at the end of the 1980s. It traces developments in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China, in particular the impact of changes in the labour process and broader political economy.

The Soviet Economy (1983) examines the long-term prospective growth of the USSR's economy. It looks at the Soviet economy's growth process at an advanced stage of development, and assesses how it would evolve in the period ahead.

Energy Reviews: Unified Gas Supply System of the USSR (1985) explores some important aspects of the development and operation of the unified gas system of the Soviet Union.

Highlights the overlooked importance of, and threat to, the River Thames during the Blitz, WW2. Had the Thames' defences been damaged, catastrophic flooding would have occurred.

This study examines the origins, evolution, and goals of Polish and Estonian diaspora communities in Sweden during the Cold War. The author analyzes their links with both their host and homeland societies and investigates their clandestine efforts to undermine the communist regimes of their homelands.

From the ranks of Hitler's select few grew the SS, a modern praetorian guard which developed into a massive and efficient military-style force with tentacles spreading into all elements of German life. Hitler appointed leaders upon whom he could rely. Many names remain obscure, but this large book highlights who they all were and how they appeared.

The year 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of final demobilisation of the Women's Land Army in 1950. The employment of over 200,000 land girls on British farms, replacing male farm labourers who joined the armed forces, contributed to the nation's ultimate successes in both the world wars. WLA was, though, regarded as the 'Cinderella' service, receiving far less appreciation than other wartime organisations. Land girls received lower pay, were billeted away from home, had hard physical work to perform, suffered harsh winter weather, and often had inadequate clothing. Hampshire's contributions were substantial; it might have been the first county to embrace the need for women farm workers, to have more members per head of population, Sparsholt College devoted almost its entire curriculum to training women and girls for employment on British farms, and both First World War ministers of Agriculture came from the county.

Three detailed studies consider British naval and military, diplomatic and commercial activity in the eastern Adriatic during the Napoleonic wars, drawing on original research in various British archives.

To carry out one clandestine mission required courage, but to do it four times required courage on a quite extraordinary scale. Yet, that is exactly what Peter Churchill did. Peter Morland Churchill was born in Amsterdam in 1909 to British diplomat William Churchill and his wife Violet. A particularly gifted linguist, upon graduating from university, Churchill followed in his fatherâEUR(TM)s footsteps and entered into the British diplomatic service before eventually joining the Home Office Advisory Committee. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, ChurchillâEUR(TM)s professional exploits and linguistic prowess led him to the Special Operations Executive (SOE) âEUR" a secret British organisation formed in 1940 to carry out subversive warfare against the enemy in Nazi-occupied Europe. Churchill was among the early volunteers for the SOE, and joined as an Intelligence Officer in the French Section in 1941\. Throughout his time in the organisation, Churchill made it into France on four separate missions. Each of these assignments were hazardous, requiring courage, resourcefulness and tireless hard work. Churchill was successful in his first three missions, but these hazards caught up with him and he was captured at the beginning of his fourth deployment to France. He endured torture, solitary confinement and the everyday horrors of the concentration camps as a result. He eventually made it back home at the end of the war and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his outstanding courage. The story of Peter Churchill and his time in the SOE is an incredible one. This remarkable history truly does justice to these experiences and will captivate any reader interested in the SOE or in the Second World War in general.

General WÅ'adysÅ'aw Sikorski was the Head of the wartime Polish Government and Polish Commander-in-Chief, 1939-1943\. Sikorski rose to prominence in Poland between 1910 and 1918 as part of the movement towards Polish independence, achieved in 1918\. In 1920 Sikorski was largely responsible for the defeat of the Red Army. In 1926 he fell from favour following a military coup. During this fallow period, 1926-1939, Sikorski travelled, mainly in France. He also wrote influential military-science treatises. In September 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union invaded and annexed Poland. Sikorski, his military offices refused by the Polish Government, fled to Romania. There he was intercepted by the French ambassador to Poland and taken to Paris where he established a Polish Government-in-Exile and rebuilt the Polish Army. In May 1940 France was overrun by Germany. Sikorski removed himself and his government to London. There he began to re-build the Polish army largely lost in France. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Sikorski was forced by the British Government to accept the Soviets as allies. This led to a larger Polish army being formed in the Soviet Union and sent to the Middle East, commanded by General Anders who was to become a thorn in SikorskiâEUR(TM)s side. By 1943, the two men were clearly enemies. Sikorski died in an air crash off Gibraltar. The cause has never been satisfactory established.

Military commanders matter. They win or lose battles, determine the outcomes of wars and often shape the history of nations. But they are also human individuals. This study of thirty-four British commanders, from Boudica to Bomber Harris, reflects on their personal stories, as individuals and warriors; as husbands and wives, libertines and lovers, strategists and shapers of British history over almost two thousand years. Short biographical essays, by military analyst Michael Clarke, cover a sweep of British history from the epic story of Queen Boudica in Roman Britain, to the generals, admirals and air marshals of the First and Second World Wars. Their styles of leadership, their strategies âEUR" or in some cases lack of them âEUR" are examined as they throw themselves on fortune. And the Gods of War decide whom will be lucky, and whom not. Some commanders described here were obvious shapers of British history, like King Alfred, William the Conqueror, Henry V, Cromwell, Marlborough, Wellington or Montgomery. Some were unlucky and seemed beset by failure, like Walter Raleigh, Sir John Moore or General John Gort. Others are less well-known as significant commanders; like Lady Aethelflaid of Mercia, the Empress Matilda, the âEUR¿greatest knightâEUR(TM), Sir William Marshal, or Cuthbert Collingwood who served with Nelson at Trafalgar. All have fascinating stories. Their experiences are compared in two final chapters that draw from unique interviews with a number of living British commanders who reflect on the âEUR¿eternal veritiesâEUR(TM) of command but also the new conditions of twenty-first century warfare.