Books published by Naval & Military Press Ltd

The second of two books in the 18-volume official history of the Second World War describing the  1944-45 campaigns in western Europe. Opening in September 1944, the book describes Montgomery’s plan to ‘leapfrog’ the River Rhine, and Eisenhower’s preference for a ‘broad front’ advance. After the failure of the British attempt to outflank the Germans with the airborne landings at Arnhem, the book describes the slow Allied advance into the Low Countries. Hammered by the relentless bombing raids of the RAF and USAF, Hitler attempted an audacious counterattack through the snowbound Ardennes in December, which, after initial success, was thrown back in the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. Setting the final fighting in the context of debate and disagreement among the Allies on post-war policy towards Germany, the authors narrate the crossing of the Rhine in March 1945, and the subsequent rapid collapse of a shattered and demoralised Germany. The book concludes with the meeting of the western allies and Russian forces on the Elbe, the grim discovery of the Nazi concentration camps, Hitler’s suicide, and the surrender of the German armed forces to Montgomery on Luneburg Heath. There are eleven appendices on the forces engaged, and such subjects as the post-war allied administration of Germany. The book is illustrated with 8 general maps, 16 situation maps, 20 sketch maps and 61 photographs.

Foch's pre-war contributions as a military theorist and lecturer have long been recognised, and he has been credited as "the most original and subtle mind in the French Army" of the early 20th century.At the outbreak of war in August 1914, Foch's XX Corps participated in the brief invasion of Germany before retreating in the face of a German counterattack and successfully blocking the Germans short of Nancy. Ordered west to defend Paris, Foch's prestige soared as a result of the victory at the Marne, for which he was widely credited as a chief protagonist while commanding the French Ninth Army. He was then promoted again to Assistant Commander-in-Chief for the Northern Zone, a role which evolved into command of Army Group North, and in which role he was required to cooperate with the British forces at Ypres and the Somme. At the end of 1916, partly owing to the disappointing results of the latter offensive and partly owing to wartime political rivalries, Foch was transferred to Italy.Foch was ultimately appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies on 26 March 1918 following being the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front with title Généralissime in 1918. He played a decisive role in halting a renewed German advance on Paris in the Second Battle of the Marne, after which he was promoted to Marshal of France.Foch considered the Treaty of Versailles too lenient on Germany and as the Treaty was being signed on 28 June 1919, he declared: "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years". His words proved prophetic: the Second World War started 20 years and 64 days later.

∩╗┐In A Guide to the Volunteers of England 1859–1908, the second of his ‘Guides’ series, Ray Westlake deals with the Volunteer Force of 1859 to 1908, the predecessors of the future Territorial Army. Well known for his valuable research into this important aspect of British Army history, the author presents details of the several branches of the Victorian system that saw men from all walks of life give up their spare time to prepare for any invasion, should it take place. In this single volume Ray Westlake has gathered together formation dates, names of officers and the location of each corps, together with details of any amalgamations, higher organisation or disbandments concerning the Light Horse Volunteers, Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Artillery Volunteers, Engineer Volunteers and Rifle Volunteers raised and recognised throughout England. Notes on any affiliated cadet corps have been included, along with mention of what Territorial Force unit was formed from each corps in 1908. An essential reference work to both military and family historians, A Guide to the Volunteers of England 1859–1908 includes some 135 illustrations of uniform and badges.

The War Diaries for the Great War, held under WO95, represent one of the most popular record collections held at the National Archives, Kew, London. For researchers and family historians, the War Diaries contain a wealth of information of far greater interest than the army could ever have predicted. They provide unrivalled insight into daily events on the front line and are packed with fascinating detail. They contain no modern editing, opinions or poorly judged comments, just the war day by day, written by the men who fought this 'War to end all Wars. They are without question, the most important source of information available on the war on the Western Front.Full colour facsimile of each page with specially created chronological index.What is a War Diary?The headquarters of each unit and formation of the British Army in the field was ordered to maintain a record of its location, movements and activities. For the most part, these details were recorded on a standard army form headed 'War diary or intelligence summary'.What details are given?Details given vary greatly, depending on the nature of the unit, what it was doing and, to some extent, the style of the man writing it. The entries vary from very simple and repetitive statements like 'Training' up to many pages of description when a unit was in battle. Production of the diary was the responsibility of the Adjutant of the headquarters concerned.Is there any other information or documents with the diaries?Some diaries have other documentation attached, such as maps, operational orders and after-action reports.

The War Diaries for the Great War, held under WO95, represent one of the most popular record collections held at the National Archives, Kew, London. For researchers and family historians, the War Diaries contain a wealth of information of far greater interest than the army could ever have predicted. They provide unrivalled insight into daily events on the front line and are packed with fascinating detail. They contain no modern editing, opinions or poorly judged comments, just the war day by day, written by the men who fought this 'War to end all Wars. They are without question, the most important source of information available on the war on the Western Front.Full colour facsimile of each page with specially created chronological index.What is a War Diary?The headquarters of each unit and formation of the British Army in the field was ordered to maintain a record of its location, movements and activities. For the most part, these details were recorded on a standard army form headed 'War diary or intelligence summary'.What details are given?Details given vary greatly, depending on the nature of the unit, what it was doing and, to some extent, the style of the man writing it. The entries vary from very simple and repetitive statements like 'Training' up to many pages of description when a unit was in battle. Production of the diary was the responsibility of the Adjutant of the headquarters concerned.Is there any other information or documents with the diaries?Some diaries have other documentation attached, such as maps, operational orders and after-action reports.

The War Diaries for the Great War, held under WO95, represent one of the most popular record collections held at the National Archives, Kew, London. For researchers and family historians, the War Diaries contain a wealth of information of far greater interest than the army could ever have predicted. They provide unrivalled insight into daily events on the front line and are packed with fascinating detail. They contain no modern editing, opinions or poorly judged comments, just the war day by day, written by the men who fought this 'War to end all Wars. They are without question, the most important source of information available on the war on the Western Front.Full colour facsimile of each page with specially created chronological index.What is a War Diary?The headquarters of each unit and formation of the British Army in the field was ordered to maintain a record of its location, movements and activities. For the most part, these details were recorded on a standard army form headed 'War diary or intelligence summary'.What details are given?Details given vary greatly, depending on the nature of the unit, what it was doing and, to some extent, the style of the man writing it. The entries vary from very simple and repetitive statements like 'Training' up to many pages of description when a unit was in battle. Production of the diary was the responsibility of the Adjutant of the headquarters concerned.Is there any other information or documents with the diaries?Some diaries have other documentation attached, such as maps, operational orders and after-action reports.

The War Diaries for the Great War, held under WO95, represent one of the most popular record collections held at the National Archives, Kew, London. For researchers and family historians, the War Diaries contain a wealth of information of far greater interest than the army could ever have predicted. They provide unrivalled insight into daily events on the front line and are packed with fascinating detail. They contain no modern editing, opinions or poorly judged comments, just the war day by day, written by the men who fought this 'War to end all Wars. They are without question, the most important source of information available on the war on the Western Front.Full colour facsimile of each page with specially created chronological index.What is a War Diary?The headquarters of each unit and formation of the British Army in the field was ordered to maintain a record of its location, movements and activities. For the most part, these details were recorded on a standard army form headed 'War diary or intelligence summary'.What details are given?Details given vary greatly, depending on the nature of the unit, what it was doing and, to some extent, the style of the man writing it. The entries vary from very simple and repetitive statements like 'Training' up to many pages of description when a unit was in battle. Production of the diary was the responsibility of the Adjutant of the headquarters concerned.Is there any other information or documents with the diaries?Some diaries have other documentation attached, such as maps, operational orders and after-action reports.

A war that ended in 1918 and in which the men whofought are now dead is today of great historical interestfor many British people. The Centenary Celebrationshave brought a renewed level of interest in a conflictthat is still 'touchable' in that almost all of us knowsomeone at one or two, or even three, generationsdistance from us. We feel they are our family thoughtime has brought separation. When we make ourjourneys to the battlefields, we take part in a pilgrimageof sorts, one that remembers those who took part inthe battles, the day to day trudge of existence, thefamilial brotherhood of survival, the occasionallaughter and pleasure of simple things, but alsohonours those who will not get to do what we do, whichis return to our families and live our lives to a hopefullyold and fulfilled age.Each year I lead groups to the battlefields of World WarOne. In trying to provide these groups with as muchinsight as well as information. But always the questionto be answered as we stop at, or more often pass, acemetery is "Why is this cemetery here?", then ofcourse "Who is buried here?". It was important to meto be able to have answers that showed that everycemetery, and every headstone, (or name on amemorial) has a story. It is easy, especially insomewhere like Serre Road No. 2 Cemetery, to forgetthat every grave is a life lived, with relatives,experiences and aspirations. This book aims to tellsome of the stories, while only scratching the surface.But, importantly, every burial, and every cemetery nomatter how isolated or small, call tell us something ofour social history.Defining the area to be covered by the book is apersonal decision and quite arbitrary. First, I decidedwhat is the battlefield of the Somme? That means tome 1916 and 1918. Consequently, a much larger areathat may be considered the 'Battle of the Somme',which is often only the area involved on 1 July 1916. Butin wanting to include the battlefields of 1916 and 1918I had also to include areas involved in the Retreat to theHindenburg Line and parts of the Battles of Arras andCambrai, all in 1917. I know that men who wereinvolved in the battles, and died of a result of theirwounds, are not here. Some died months later inBritain. I took one family to follow the footsteps of arelative wounded at Luke Copse near Serre on 1 July1916 who died of his wounds five days late at a BaseHospital in Rouen and is buried in St Sever Cemetery.I had to draw lines somewhere and I am satisfied thatmy boundaries allowed me to validly cover as much ofthe battlefields of the Somme as made sense.

The 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment, originally part of the 25th Infantry Brigade, was then attached to the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and served with the BEF in France in 1940. The battalion was successfully evacuated from Dunkirk. Back in Britain, the battalion became part of the 56th Independent Infantry Brigade, training intensively for the eventual D-day invasion. The battalion landed on Gold Beach in Normandy and quickly moved inland. Involved in the taking of Le Havre, members of the battalion discovered the payroll of the German city garrison in the town's hospital basement. They fought in the battle for the shattered and fiercely contested city of Caen, serving again with the 50th Division and briefly the 59th Division. The battalion then joined the 49th Division for the remainder of the war, serving chiefly with the First Canadian Army, and taking part in the Second Battle of Arnhem. This excellent history is profusely illustrated with battle photographs and contains a Roll of Honour.

An exemplary WW2 history giving a description of the Southern Rhodesian contribution to the Allied cause in WWII. A great many white Southern Rhodesians served overseas with non-Rhodesian units - The Royal Air Force, King's African Rifles, Royal West African Frontier Force, Royal Artillery, 6th South African Armoured Division, etc.- so the author is obliged to bounce around the world while trying to cover their diverse services in the various theatres of war. Despite the scale of his work, he succeeds in keeping track of them, and at the same time, mentioning many by name (thus making the Index a valuable aid to the researcher). He also covers in good detail the work done by the Colony's own integral units 4th Rhodesian anti-tank Bty RA, 17th Rhodesia Field Bty RA, Rhodesian African Rifles, etc. This scarce (in its original printing) history concludes with an Index for both volumes. Apps: Roll of Honour (Europeans and Africans, arranged alphabetically, showing their surnames and initials, various statistics for numbers of men who served casualties, and awards.

An exemplary WW2 history giving a description of the Southern Rhodesian contribution to the Allied cause in WWII. A great many white Southern Rhodesians served overseas with non-Rhodesian units - The Royal Air Force, King's African Rifles, Royal West African Frontier Force, Royal Artillery, 6th South African Armoured Division, etc.- so the author is obliged to bounce around the world while trying to cover their diverse services in the various theatres of war. Despite the scale of his work, he succeeds in keeping track of them, and at the same time, mentioning many by name (thus making the Index a valuable aid to the researcher). He also covers in good detail the work done by the Colony's own integral units 4th Rhodesian anti-tank Bty RA, 17th Rhodesia Field Bty RA, Rhodesian African Rifles, etc. This scarce (in its original printing) history concludes with an Index for both volumes. Apps: Roll of Honour (Europeans and Africans, arranged alphabetically, showing their surnames and initials, various statistics for numbers of men who served casualties, and awards.

Although the third member of the Central Powers triple alliance before the Great War, Italy wisely held aloof from the conflict which began in August 1914. But pressure from the western Allies - particularly France - caused her to abandon neutrality and join the war on the Allied side. This volume recounts what followed as it affected the British troops involved in supporting our tottering ally after the disastrous defeat at Caporetto in 1917. The preliminary chapters provide a sketch of the events that brought Italy into the war and the operations that took place before the arrival of the British divisions in November 1917. In all, five British and four French divisions with supporting arms and services (including air) came to the aid of the ltalians in 1917/1918, enabling her to recover and drive her German and Austrian foes back into the Alps by the armistice in November.

The Regiment which became the 1st and 2nd Battalions East Surreys began life in 1702 during the expansion of the British Army to fight Louis XIV's expansionist France in the reigns of King William III and Queen Anne. Originally the 31st Foot (Huntingdonshire Regiment) and the 70th Foot (Surrey Regiment), the units took part in the 1704-5 siege of Gibraltar in the Seven Years War; the battle of Dettingen - the last action in which a reigning English monarch (George II) fought; and the attack on the French Caribbean island of Martinique during the French Revolutionary wars. The regiment played a prominent part in the Peninsular War, fighting in the battles of Talavera, Albuhera, Vittoria, the Pyrenees and Nivelle. It fought in the siege of Sebastopol in the Crimean War, the Maori wars in New Zealand, and the Afghan War of 1879-9. It was deployed in South Africa in the Boer War, being involved in the relief of Ladysmith. This is a complete illustrated history of the regiment's role in all these conflicts, that was first published in 1914 on the eve of the Great War.