Military History

A major new political history of the French Revolution   In 1786, France’s ancien régime was functioning as usual. Its alliance with the victorious American colonies had restored its diplomatic prestige, the economy seemed to be flourishing, and internal politics seemed quiet. But just a few short years later, the dynasty which had ruled France for over 800 years was swept away. What happened to cause such devastating change to the long-established political structure?   John Hardman traces the political history of the French Revolution, from its origins to its aftermath. Hardman argues that the nature of ancien régime politics, the mismanagement of the fiscal crisis, and a new generation of young, overly confident politicians brought the Bourbon monarchy’s apparatus crashing down. He shows how feudalism was on its last legs in 1789, and analyses the key roles played by Louis XVI, Antoine Barnave, and Georges Danton.   This is a remarkable history of one of modern Europe’s defining moments, shedding new light on the complex politics of the day.

This is the first major account of an important part of the life of the naval officer who rose to be the eminent Admiral Sir John Corbett, KCB, (1822-1893) and became Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies and at the Nore. He played significant roles in the expansion and management of the British Empire, and his adventures including in the Opium War are visually captured by the full-colour and black and white illustrations, many from his own skilled paintings.The work draws on public documents, family papers, contemporary photographs, and the archive of Sir John's paintings which feature the many places where he served all over the globe.Corbett's informative detailed letters in particular provide an important insight into life in the Victorian navy in many parts of the world, and how senior officers recorded and communicated their experiences.The work starts with the shipwreck of HMS Wolverene in the Caribbean in 1855 and Corbett's subsequent court martial in Bermuda. It continues with the commissioning of his new command, the paddle steamer HMS Inflexible, in 1856 and his epic voyage towing a gunboat to Hong Kong in record time. The Shropshire-born officer served in China, India, the Mediterranean, North America, Syria, and on the East African coast. His descendant, David Peretz, provides Corbett's vivid detailed account of his time in China, including his involvement in the May/June 1857 actions there.

Amid the fanfare around AI and autonomous weapons, decision-makers - both military and political - are imagining an augmented future for warfare that minimises human influence and connection. But in their rush for speed and lethality, leaders have failed to understand the behavioural and technical challenges that accompany these new weapon types, as well as the detail of their operation and the practicalities involved in deploying these assets on tomorrow's battlefields. Indeed, as autonomy starts to flood fighting practices, the classical concepts of combat, tactics and strategy may no longer be fit for task. We are not ready and, as this book makes clear, human oversight over lethal engagement is critical if we are to do more than suffer defeats faster.

The Poet's Game is a remarkably sophisticated, timely, and emotionally resonant portrait of a spy from a master of the genre.

90 Seconds to Midnight tells the gripping and thought-provoking story of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Hiroshima in 1945, when the city was annihilated by an atomic bomb, and her ensuing quest to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The previously unpublished wartime diary of Lieutenant General James Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II.

A personal memoir of deployment with the strike cell that hunted America's enemies in Iraq using cutting-edge technology.

The training, uniform, equipment, and experience of the fighting men who crewed German assault guns, tank destroyers and self-propeled artillery.

Alan Munro reflects on his time in the RAF and the Cold War jets which he flew. It is his time on the Phantoms that is the main crux of this book. He discusses how the withdrawal of Lightnings from the RAF changed the Phantom's role and the impact this had on squadrons. This is a must for fans of the Cold War era fighters

The German-Soviet War revises the conflict's generally accepted understanding through case studies, demonstrating the complexity of the war at the local level. The contributors assembled by Jeff Rutherford and Robert von Maier examine the multiplicity of experiences of individuals caught in this savage war, starting with the German war of annihilation launched against Soviet state and society in June 1941.This detailed collection shows that the particular nature of the war in the east resulted from an intertwining of military, ideological, and economic motives. The German-Soviet War puts Germany's murderous policies toward Soviet Jews and prisoners of war, and the justification for these policies and actions within the ranks of the army, into the larger context of battlefield events.The neglected topic of the destructive German scorched-earth retreats receives detailed analysis, demonstrating the importance of ideology and economic thinking in the German army's war. The difficulty in reconciling economic and ideological considerations also played a prominent role in Soviet attempts to rebuild after the war. The German-Soviet War not only brings attention to these devastating events but also revises the general narrative of the war.By internationalizing the conflict through examinations into the various Axis and Allied nations and peoples who participated in the fighting, this volume provides new ways of conceptualizing their motivations, actions, and importance in its eventual outcome. Together, the contributions to The German-Soviet War provide new ways of examining the defining conflict of the Second World War.

A cutting-edge analysis of the interwar period as one fundamentally international in scope and deeply violent in nature.World War I destroyed the world that had come before. It shattered three empires and fueled new nationalisms and ideologies that threatened to destroy those that remained. It left millions in its wake with military training and access to weaponry, creating networks of violence that would spread across much of the globe. This violence in the interwar period resulted in more deaths than during the Great War, most of them outside of Europe. While studies of the First and Second World Wars have become more international and interconnected, our understanding of the interwar period remains dominated by national narratives. A Violent Peace offers a new perspective, stretching across four continents and drawing together a multitude of conflicts, large and small: from the Spanish Civil War to the Wewel Incident in Ethiopia; from the small RAF force involved in Somaliland to the hundreds of thousands in the Chinese Nationalist Encirclement Campaigns; from the conflicts surrounding newly formed states in the Polish-Soviet War to a settling of much older accounts in South America. The themes and patterns from this global era are drawn together in a cohesive analysis, including key studies on the utilization of technology, the growing importance of ideology, and how the Great War shaped the nature of these conflicts. A Violent Peace provides a fresh angle on a tumultuous era and challenges readers to reconsider their preconceived ideas about the interwar period.

The first book written in Australia on the Ukraine War, by ABC's Global Affairs Editor, John Lyons, based on his reporting from the frontlines. By daytime, Ukraine is a sophisticated European country going about its business, and Kyiv seems like an enchanting city. But by night, the sirens roar, and the war begins. Ukraine is using the amount of ammunition that all of Europe produces in one day, and yet on the surface, much of the country appears to be going about its business as usual.This is a very different book as this is a very different war: One fought by a huge army of civilians, from old punk rockers to university professors and Coca Cola brand managers who are working behind the scenes to outwit the Russian army. The real story of this war is how a nation of 44 million people has marshalled to fend off an enemy much bigger and more daunting than them.Instead of focusing on the geopolitics or strategy of war, Lyons explores the everyday resilient civilians who are taking part in it. It is about survival, not soldiers, and in it Lyons tells us a hopeful story about humanity in the darkest of times.