Military History

A lavishly illustrated account of the entire air campaign on the Eastern Front in World War II.

Adam Zamoyski's bestselling account of Napoleon's invasion of Russia and his catastrophic retreat from Moscow, events that had a profound effect on European history.In 1812 the most powerful man in the world assembled the largest army in history and marched on Moscow with the intention of consolidating his dominion. But within months, Napoleon's invasion of Russia - history's first example of total war - had turned into an epic military disaster. Over 400,000 French and Allied troops perished and Napoleon was forced to retreat.Adam Zamoyski's masterful work draws on the harrowing first-hand accounts of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict. The result takes the reader beyond the invasion of Russia to present both a poignant tale of the individual foot soldier and a sweeping history of a turbulent time.

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREThe heartbreaking and inspiring story of one of the deadliest battles during the war in Afghanistan, acclaimed by critics everywhere as a classic.'A mind-boggling, all-too-true story of heroism, hubris, failed strategy, and heartbreaking sacrifice' Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild

U.S. Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare contains incredibly detailed information and visuals provided by the U.S. Army. With this guide, you will be able to easily apply its material to understand and create initiators, igniters, and incendiary materials. This is an anarchist cookbook of sorts by army guys. It is an improvised munitions handbook made from U.S. Army intelligence. The table of contents includes gelled gasoline, fire fudge, napalm, silver nitrate, concentrated sulfuric acid, fuse cords, spontaneous combustion, and delay mechanisms. Brimming with special forces secrets, this guide is a critical tool for any provocateur-in-training and provides insight into how American special forces are fighting our enemies overseas.

Fully revised second edition of Peter Duckers best-selling guide to military medals

The Panther tank was the backbone of Hitler's armoured forces.

Gripping combat narrative, full of telling detail and drawing on first-hand testimonies.

Gripping memoir of one of the most senior Polish commanders during WW2 and a true patriot. A unique insight into the Arnhem operation as the Author commanded the Polish Parachute Brigade. Records the author's full war including fighting the Germans in 1939, his escape and subsequent contribution.

A full and detailed biography of Roger Keyes, Admiral of the Fleet and Lord of Zeebrugge and Dover. Lord Keyes was Churchill's trusted friend. He participated in the Boxer Rebellion, the First World War and the Second World War, during which he worked especially closely with Churchill.

A compact but comprehensive guide to the iconic fighter planes that fought during World War II, which features full color profile artwork throughout.World War II saw pilots from around the world battling in the skies over Europe, Asia and Africa, with victory resting upon their nerve, skill and the capabilities of some of history's most iconic aircraft. In the chaos of battle, it was vital that they could quickly identify friend from foe. But do you know your Hurricane from your Bf 109, or what the legendary P-51 Mustang looks like? Do you know the wingspan of the A6M Zero-sen, or how fast it could fly?THE WORLD WAR II FIGHTER PLANES SPOTTER'S GUIDE answers all of these questions and more, providing essential information on over 90 legendary aircraft, from the celebrated Spitfire to the jet-powered Me 262. Featuring full-colour artwork to aid recognition, as well as all the details you need to assess their performance, this is the perfect pocket guide to the Allied and Axis fighters of World War II.

A history and analysis of one of the most dramatic moments in both air power and naval history. With the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse, no battleship was safe on the open ocean, and the aircraft took its crown as the most powerful maritime weaponIn late 1941, war was looming with Japan, and Britain's empire in southeast Asia was at risk. The British government decided to send Force Z, which included the state-of-the-art battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse, to bolster the naval defences of Singapore, and provide a mighty naval deterrent to Japanese aggression. These two powerful ships arrived in Singapore on 2 December - five days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But crucially, they lacked air cover. On 9 December Japanese scout planes detected Force Z's approach in the Gulf of Thailand. Unlike at Pearl Harbor, battleships at sea could manoeuvre, and their anti-aircraft defences were ready. But it did no good. The Japanese dive-bombers and torpedo-bombers were the most advanced in the world, and the battle was one-sided. Strategically, the loss of Force Z was a colossal disaster for the British, and one that effectively marked the end of its empire in the East. But even more importantly, the sinking marked the last time that battleships were considered to be the masters of the ocean. From that day on, air power rather than big guns would be the deciding factor in naval warfare.

The first of two volumes on the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, exploring Mussolini's fateful decision to move against Greece in October 1940. The Greek President Metaxas rejected the Italian ultimatum with a famous 'Oxi' ('No'), and what followed was Italy's first debacle in World War II.In the wake of Italy's rapid annexation of Albania in April 1940, Mussolini's decision to attack Greece in October that year is widely acknowledged as a fatal mistake, leading to a domestic crisis and to the collapse of Italy's reputation as a military power (re-emphasized by the Italian defeat in North Africa in December 1940). The Italian assault on Greece came to a stalemate in less than a fortnight, and was followed a week later by a Greek counter-offensive that broke through the Italian defences before advancing into Albania, forcing the Italian forces to withdraw north before grinding to a half in January 1941 due to logistical issues. Eventually, the Italians took advantage of this brief hiatus to reorganize and prepare a counteroffensive, the failure of which marked the end of the first stage of the Axis Balkan campaign.The first of two volumes examining the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, this book offers a detailed overview of the Italian and Greek armies, their fighting power, and the terrain in which they fought. Complimented by rarely seen images and full colour illustrations, it shows how expectations of an easy Italian victory quickly turned into one of Mussolini's greatest blunders.

In June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. This key event in 20th-century history continues to fascinate the public imagination, yet few historians have examined in depth the regional context which allowed this assassination to happen or the murder's ripples which quickly spread out across the Balkans, Austria-Hungary and Europe as a whole. In this study, Mark Cornwall has gathered an impressive cast of contributors to explore the causes of the Sarajevo assassination and its consequences for the Balkans in the context of the First World War.The volume assesses from a variety of regional perspectives how the 'South Slav Question' destabilized the empire's southern provinces, provoking violent discontent in Croatia and Bosnia, and exacerbating the empire's relations with Serbia, regarded by Austria-Hungary as a dangerous state. It then explores the ripples of the Sarajevo event, from its evolution into a European crisis to the creation of a new independent state of Yugoslavia.Bringing together fresh perspectives by historians from Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, as well as leading British historians of Austria-Hungary, this book is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the Sarajevo violence and how it shaped modern Balkan history.

The amazing story of champion cyclist Gino Bartali. How he helped save the lives of 800 Jews during WW2.

The actual course given to all secret agents in SOE before working behind enemy lines. It includes everything you needed to know to go undercover - from documents, cover stories and how to live off the land to how to get through an interrogation.The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.In late 1942, SOE was asked to increase the number of agents to aid the invasion of mainland Europe. Part of agent training was 'tradecraft' - the practical details on how to be a clandestine agent behind enemy lines - which every agent had to attend at various bases centred around Beaulie in Hampshire.The course was a set of lectures and this book contains the actual text of those lectures which were discovered in the National Archives this year. It is not only a fascinating insight into the workings of one of the Second World Wars most famous and secretive organisations, but is also a reminder of the huge danger anyone being dropped behind enemy lines had to face.

One of the most colourful characters in the Napoleonic pantheon, Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher is best known as the Prussian general who, with the Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. This biography by Michael Leggiere is the first scholarly book in English to explore Blucher's life and military career - and his impact on Napoleon.

Starting from the ocean and from the forgotten histories of ocean-facing communities, this is a new history of the making of our world.

During the German occupation of Rome from 1942 to 1944, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty ran an escape organisation for Allied POWs and civilians, including Jews. Safe within the Vatican state, he regularly ventured out in disguise to continue his mission, which earned him the nickname 'the Pimpernel of the Vatican'. Kappler, the Gestapo chief in Rome, ordered him captured or killed. When the Allies entered Rome, Monsignor O'Flaherty and his colleagues had saved over 6,500 lives.

This illustrated title details the campaign history, uniforms, and insignia of a major foreign volunteer formation of the Waffen-SS before its final transformation into a full division in the winter of 1944.Goebbels' 1941 propaganda campaign to present Germany's invasion of the USSR as a battle for European civilization against Asian barbarism convinced many men in occupied "Germanic" European countries, such as Scandinavia and the Low Countries, to volunteer to fight on the Russian Front. One of the strongest national legions of such a kind was raised in the Netherlands, where it was supported by a large pro-Nazi movement led by Anton Mussert. The 3,000-man Netherlands Volunteer Legion fought on the Leningrad front in regimental strength, from the Red Army's winter 1941/42 counter-offensive until April 1943. The survivors were then reinforced to form a 5,500-strong Panzergrenadier Brigade, and after anti-partisan service in Croatia, they returned to Army Group North as part of Steiner's III SS Panzer Korps, fighting in the most arduous battles of 1943--44 until driven back into Pomerania. In the final months of the war the division formed the nucleus of the new 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nederland."In this illustrated study of the Dutch Waffen-SS Legion and Brigade, specialist Massimiliano Afiero explores the full history of this important formation from its establishment in 1941 until it was incorporated into the "Nederland" Division in 1944. Contemporary photographs and full-color illustrations support the text and reveal key details including aspects of uniform and insignia.

This book analyses Chinäs foreign technology acquisition activity and how this has helped its rapid rise to superpower status.

'Totally gripping'-- Simon Sebag Montefiore Pilecki is perhaps one of the greatest unsung heroes of the second world war ... this insightful book is likely to be the definitive version of this extraordinary life -- EconomistWould you sacrifice yourself to save thousands of others?In the Summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interned at a new concentration camp on the border of the Reich. His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising. The name of the detention centre -- Auschwitz.It was only after arriving at the camp that he started to discover the Nazi s terrifying plans. Over the next two and half years, Witold forged an underground army that smuggled evidence of Nazi atrocities out of Auschwitz. His reports from the camp were to shape the Allies response to the Holocaust - yet his story was all but forgotten for decades. This is the first major account to draw on unpublished family papers, newly released archival documents and exclusive interviews with surviving resistance fighters to show how he brought the fight to the Nazis at the heart of their evil designs.The result is an enthralling story of resistance and heroism against the most horrific circumstances, and one man s attempt to change the course of history.

The German battleship Scharnhorst had a reputation for being a lucky ship. Early in the war she fought off a British battlecruiser and sunk a carrier, before carrying out two successful forays into the Atlantic. In the spring of 1943, the Scharnhorst was redeployed to Norway. There, working in concert with other German warships such as the battleship Tirpitz, she posed a major threat to the Arctic convoys - the Allied sea lifeline to Russia. Her presence, alongside Tirpitz, forced the British to tie down ships in Arctic waters.When Tirpitz was put out of action, and Hitler demanded naval support for the war in Russia, the crew of the Scharnhorst under Rear-Admiral Bey, had to act. In late December 1943, she put to sea, her target an Allied convoy passing through the Barents Sea on its way to Murmansk. Unknown to Bey, the British were using the convoy as bait to draw the Scharnhorst into battle. What followed was a two-day running battle fought in rough seas and near-perpetual darkness, ending with the destruction of the Scharnhorst and all but 36 of her crew, ending any serious German naval threat to the Arctic convoy lifeline.In this illustrated study, leading naval historian Angus Konstam offers a fascinating new insight into this key engagement. He combines expert analysis with his unique knack for storytelling to offer a fascinating new perspective on the battle which sank the Scharnhorst.