Military History

A highly illustrated account of the battle of the Falaise Pocket, Normandy 1944.

Excerpts from the many unofficial 'manuals' avidly bought by members of the British Home Guard desperate to prepare for invasion during World War II

Fully illustrated, this absorbing study investigates the development of sniping weapons and techniques on World War II''s Eastern Front.The Soviet Union had developed a significant sniping force by 1939, but the extraordinary skill and cunning displayed by Finnish snipers during the Winter War forced the Soviets to innovate. On the other side, German sniping suffered from a lack of standardization of weapons and a lack of marksmen deployed at the start of the Great Patriotic War (1941ΓÇô45). There were few heroes in the conflict, but on both sides, the snipers were idolized ΓÇô especially on the Soviet side gaining almost mythical status.As well as traditional bolt-action weapons, both sides used several types of semi-automatic rifle, such as the SVT-38 and the Gew 41. Offering greater firepower at the expense of long-range accuracy, such weapons would be profoundly influential in the postwar world.

The first two volumes of the History of the Panzerwaffe covered the story of this legendary fighting force throughout World War II: this third title details the organization and development of some of its most famous units--the German Panzer Divisions.The first two volumes of the History of the Panzerwaffe have described how the Germans transformed armored warfare from a lumbering and ponderous experiment in World War I into something that could decide the outcome of conflicts, and how the legendary Panzerwaffe overran Western Europe and reached the gates of Moscow to the east, before taking its place in the forefront of German defense from the D-Day landings to the valiant last stand in Berlin. This third volume focuses on the most important units in the Panzerwaffe, and some of the most famous units in the history of warfare: the Panzer Divisions. It details their pre-war origins and how they developed over the course of the war, covering all the specialized units and how they operated on the battlefield. The title is illustrated throughout with many rare and previously unpublished images and the text draws heavily on original German documents.

Men of Bronze is a wargame that allows you to play out Classical Greek hoplite battles on the tabletop. Players are Strategoi (generals) leading phalanxes of bronze-clad warriors in pursuit of fame, glory, and the honor of their city-states. To win such prizes, however, you must prove your mettle, display your valor, and bring the other Strategoi to their knees!Designed to recreate small battles or larger skirmishes with 50-80 figures per side, each army will have its own unique mix of rules, advantages, backgrounds, and abilities. Strategoi must understand and appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of their forces in order to win glory on the battlefield. Of course, there's no telling what tricks a rival Strategos might have up their tunic sleeves.

The M3A1 Scout Car, produced by White Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio, served as the US Cavalry's primary scouting and reconnaissance vehicle during the early days of the US entry into WWII. A powerful Hercules engine, four-wheel drive, and relatively light weight gave the vehicle both impressive on-road speed and reasonable off-road maneuverability. Typically armed with a trio of heavy and light machine guns, the vehicle was not intended to "slug it out" with the enemy, but rather to locate the enemy and, through its impressive array of radio equipment, report the positions to more heavily armed forces. Through dozens of archival photos, including previously unpublished images, as well as details of some of the finest existing examples, this iconic vehicle is explored and its history is explained. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

The latest in the WWII series by Simon Forty and Leo Marriott provides a unique, highly illustrated perspective on The Battle of the Bulge using maps, photography old and new, hardware, memorials, museums, and cemeteries to give an overview of this crucial campaign.

D-Day is a vibrant and evocative graphic novel exploring the events of the pivotal Normandy Landings from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground.June 6, 1944: a vast armada stands off the coast of Normandy; in the pre-dawn gloom gliders carrying British airborne troops approach their target. The first shots are about to be fired in "the Great Crusade" to free Europe from Nazi occupation and thousands of troops will fight their way ashore in the teeth of deadly machine-gun and artillery fire from the German defenders. D-Day is about to begin. The Normandy landings are brought alive in this electrifying graphic novel that tells the story of that Longest Day through the eyes of the men who were there. Discover an epic struggle as the Allies sought to overwhelm the German defenders by land, sea, and air, who in turn battled desperately to drive the invasion back into the sea. Covering the full range of events from the earliest airborne assault through the struggle on the beaches and the desperate effort to establish a bridgehead inland, D-Day blends an authentic historical narrative with master illustration to reveal the full story of the day that changed the course of World War II.

The T-55 is one of the most iconic weapons created by the Soviets during the Cold War and also one of the most widely deployed weapons in history. Like its younger brother, the T-54, the T-55 enjoyed a long career in the Red Army and even into the early days of the reformed Russian Army. Under their control it saw very little combat use or deployments, but it was widely sold to other nations and participated in many of the wars and combat operations from the mid-1960s to the present. The T-55 has been employed in almost every conflict in the Middle East and Africa from its introduction into service. Even today the tank is still employed by both sides in the Syrian Civil War, and they are also in service with Kurdish forces in the struggle against ISIS in the northern part of Iraq. Containing more than 400 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-55, one of the most widely produced tanks of all time.

The War Within: America’s Battle over Vietnam is a painfully engrossing and popularly written account of how the battle on the home front ended America’s least popular war. This absorbing narrative, hailed by critics of every persuasion, is the fruit of over a decade’s worth of research: the author sifted through mountains of government documents, press coverage, and transcripts of interviews he conducted with virtually all of the key players, both inside the U.S. government and among the dissenters who eventually brought the war to an end. In these pages the antiwar era comes to life through the words of scores of participants, both the famous and the forgotten, who speak with candor and passion about this tumultuous period. A remarkable story of a powerful grassroots movement and its influence on officials in Washington.

A highly illustrated study of Operation L├╝ttich, the German Panzer counteroffensive against the Normandy bridgehead in August 1944 that backfired, leading to a collapse of the German position in northern France.Fully illustrated with stunning full-color artwork, this book tells the story of Operation L├╝ttich, the failed offensive which ended any prospect of Germany winning the battle of Normandy.Following the successful landings in Normandy on D-Day and consolidation during Operation Cobra, the Wehrmacht was ordered to begin a counteroffensive named Operation L├╝ttich. The plan was to send a large Panzer force across the First US Army sector, cutting off its spearheads, and finally reach Avranches on the coast. Had this succeeded, it not only would have cut off the First US Army spearheads, but also Patton''s newly deployed Third US Army operating in Brittany. However, thanks to an intercepted radio message, the Allies were well-prepared for the offensive and not only repelled the oncoming panzers, but went on a counterattack that would lead to a whole German army becoming encircled in the Falaise Pocket.

Marine archaeologist Dr Innes McCartney solves the mysterious fate of the lost ships of Jutland and reveals ΓÇô for the first time ΓÇô the location and state of the wrecks of all 25 warships sunk in the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow.The German High Seas Fleet was one of the most power naval forces in the world, and had fought the pride of the Royal Navy to a stalemate at the battle of Jutland in 1916. After the armistice was signed, ending fighting in World War I, it surrendered to the British and was interned in Scapa Flow pending the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles. In June 1919 the entire fleet attempted to sink itself in the Flow to prevent it being broken up as war prizes. Of the 74 ships present, 52 sunk and 22 were prevented from doing so by circumstance and British intervention. Marine archaeologist and historian Dr Innes McCartney reveals for the first time what became of the warships that were scuttled, examining the circumstances behind the loss of each ship and reconciling what was known at the time to what the archaeology is revealing today. This fascinating study reveals a fleet lost for nearly a century beneath the waves.

First English account of this brutal conflict in forty years, with a fast-paced narrative of the campaigns and battles based on meticulous research and French sources.

On 16 October 1946 Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's wartime Foreign Minister, was executed at Nuremberg, convicted on four counts including deliberately planning a war of aggression and war crimes.

It is often forgotten that during World War II, the Japanese managed to successfully invade and conquer a precious part of American home soil - the first time this had happened since 1815. Capturing the Aleutian Islands, located in Alaska territory, was seen by the Japanese as vital in order to shore up their northern defensive perimeter. Fighting in the Aleutians was uniquely brutal. It is a barren, rugged archipelago of icy mountains and thick bogs, with a climate of constant snow, freezing rains and windstorms. These geographic conditions tended to neutralize traditional American strengths such as air power, radar, naval bombardment and logistics. The campaign to recapture the islands required extensive combined-ops planning, and inflicted on the United States its second highest casualty rate in the Pacific Theatre. Featuring the largest Japanese banzai charge of the war, first use of pre-battle battleship bombardment in the Pacific and the battle at the Komandorski Islands, this is the full story of the forgotten battle to liberate American soil from the Japanese.

At the turn of the 20th century, the region of Manchuria sat atop a potentially catastrophic political fault line; the ancient strength of China was crumbling, leaving opportunities for both Russia and Japan to claw out new territories from the edges of that dying empire. Russian pride would contend with Japanese ambition in a conflict that ushered in the age of massed armies fighting on battlefields that were being redefined by the new tools of war such as newer, larger artillery pieces, and the use of machine guns in pitched battles. The vast, but over-stretched Russian Army was expected to steamroller its far smaller opponent, but the aggressiveness and zeal of the more modern Japanese military confounded expectations.Examining these two armies in detail, this fully illustrated study tells the story of how these two empires clashed in the Russo-Japanese War, heralding a new phase in modern warfare as World War I loomed on the horizon.

Tiger Ausf. B included all pros and cons of the German tank construction design. Ideas implicated in the Tiger Ausf. B were based on the previous designs and they omitted excesses and disadvantages of earlier vehicles. This is the tank that allows to evaluate what the German tank industry has achieved and what could have happened in the future developments. This book deals with the background and development of German heavy tank Tiger Ausf. B, production history and constructional features, as well as evaluation of the captured vehicles by the Red Army during the field tests.

Launched in 1914, two years after the ill-fated voyage of her sister ship, RMS Titanic, the Britannic was intended to be superior to her tragic twin in every way. But war intervened and in 1915 she was requisitioned as a hospital ship. Just one year later, while on her way to collect troops wounded in the Balkans campaign, she fell victim to a mine laid by a German U-boat and tragically sank in the middle of the Aegean Sea.There her wreck lay, at a depth of 400 feet, until it was discovered 59 years later by legendary explorer Jacques Cousteau. In 1996 the wreck was bought by the author of this book, Simon Mills.Exploring the Britannic tells the complete story of this enigmatic ship: her construction, launch and life, her fateful last voyage, and the historical findings resulting from the exploration of the well-preserved wreck over a period of 40 years. With remarkable sonar scans and many never before seen photographs of the wreck, plus fold-out sections of the original Harland & Wolff ship plans, not previously published in their entirety, Exploring the Britannic finally details how the mysteries surrounding the 100-year-old enigma were laid to rest, and what the future might also hold for her.

One hundred years after the Russian Revolution, Zizek shows why Lenin's thought is still important today

Following the progress of the Royal Navy from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to the First World War, Brian Lavery reveals how the Royal Navy shaped British industry, innovation and identity, and became the essential creator and guardian of British democracy.

Germany's World War I and II era submachine guns are all featured in this fully illustrated book. Early Bergmann models are presented first showing their development from the MP18, through to the MP35, followed by discussions of the Schmeisser MP28, Steyr MP34, and Erma "EMP." An extensive chapter on the famous MP38/40 features a close look at production numbers, manufacturers, and markings. Foreign and late-war models are also presented showing the wide variety of SMGs used by the Wehrmacht during WWII. The book concludes with the legendary and influential MKb42, MP43/1, MP44, and StG44 series of assault rifles. Their wartime use is shown in superb period photography and clear, up-close color images. Accessories such as magazines, ammunition, pouches, and silencers are featured throughout the book, as well as rarely seen WWI and II-related uniform and equipment items.

The legendary British, World War II STEN submachine gun is featured in this concise, illustrated book. Famous for its use by British elite forces, as well as the French underground during WWII, variants of the STEN were manufactured and used by many countries during the war and up through the 1970s. Beginning with its initial design and construction, the Mk.I and Mk.I*, Mk.II, Mk.III, and Mk.5 versions are presented in detail, including up-close images of manufacturer's markings. Superb war-era photographs show the various STEN models in combat use. Select foreign variants also discussed include French, Polish, and German types. STEN accessories such as magazines, ammunition, silencers, and bayonets are featured throughout the book, as well as rarely seen WWII-related uniform and equipment items.

The Home Guards are an attacking force lying in wait for, and ready to destroy, and enemy who dares to set foot on out shores.' The Home Guard has been immortalised in British culture in the TV series Dad's Army. Formed by men not eligible for active service - too old, too young, in reserved occupations vital to the war effort - who were expected to resist a German invasion with any resources they had to hand, the Home Guard is the embodiment of plucky British resolve against the odds. The Home Guard Pocket-Book evokes this spirit. Written by Brig-Gen Green, commanding 4th battalion, Sussex Home Guard and Training Adviser for the Sussex Zone, this book is based on his experience and, in his own words, 'is the result of my ransacking the dusty pigeon-holes of memory and the condensation of many books, official instructions and writings'. Its tone is informal and colloquial, such as: 'March discipline. Troops will always march off the parade ground at the Slope. As soon as this has been done the order "March at Ease" should be given. When marching at ease the rifle may be carried in any way a soldier fancies.' Nevertheless, the book is full of sound advice on training, organisation and discipline, fire arms, reconnaissance and field engineering, the responsibilities of the Group Pigeon Officer, the proper position to adopt for surviving a dive bomb attack, and how to set a trap for an unwary advancing German cyclist!