Title search results
Showing 101 - 120 of 1176 items
A Dictionary of Coastal Command, 1939–1945
By Geoff Simpson. 2016
An alphabetical account of the part in the Second World War played by the Kipper Fleet as it was known…
in the RAF. Coastal Command often lacked resources compared with other home commands, giving it its other nickname of the Cinderella Service. Its main role was defensive that of protecting Britains vital sea borne supply lines in home waters as well as in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and around the coasts of Africa.Coastal Command also acted in an offensive capacity, particularly in the so-called Battle of the Barges in 1940 which helped deter Hitler from invading the UK, and in the Mediterranean and the Baltic, attacking German shipping. Coastal Command, however, is most usually remembered for the war against the U-boats, one that was eventually won.From A to Z this well-illustrated book tells the story of the gallantry, the achievements, the losses, the VCs, the aircraft and much else about RAF Coastal Command.Naval Aviation in the Korean War: Aircraft, Ships and Men
By Warren Thompson. 2011
A history of the conflict in Korea with an emphasis on the crucial role of aviation. This in-depth history…
covers the role of US aircraft carriers and aircraft in stopping the North Korean initial push to the south; their role in the famous Inchon Landing and Pusan Perimeter break out; naval operations during the Marines&’ Chosin Reservoir march to the sea in December 1950; and the stabilization of the front lines after the Chinese entered the war during 1951. At this time, the emphasis for naval air operations was centered on interdiction behind the lines. The focus was on trying to stop road and rail traffic from resupplying the communist troops and allowing them to build up to a major offensive. Also described is the entry of the F2H Banshee into carrier operations, which gave the US four major types of aircraft with which to wage the war. During 1952, most carrier air groups spent their time off the coast of North Korea while hitting targets up along the Yalu River, putting them well within the range of MiG-15s. Navy F9F Panthers were used as top cover, while the Corsairs and Skyraiders went after major targets such as the dam complexes upriver and marshaling yards north of Pyongyang. During 1953, naval air operations were stepped up in an effort to get the communists back to the truce talks. The number of MiG-15s had grown to a figure many times that of the UN for overhead protection; the deep missions were more dangerous than ever; and the Chinese brought in state-of-the-art antiaircraft automatic weapons. This comprehensive book brings you into the action as the stakes get higher and higher before the conflict eventually draws to a close.Battlefield Bombers: Deep Sea Attack
By Martin W. Bowman. 2014
Featuring a unique selection of wide-ranging experiences of British and Commonwealth Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two, this new…
release details the deep sea bombing raids that occurred within this time-frame. The enduring bravery and fortitude of these bomber pilots is communicated through a series of first-hand recollections, as is their humour and occasional cynicism. All reflect the ethos, fear and bravery of these ordinary men, most of whom were plucked from 'civvy street' and thrust into a frightening, bitter conflict which was made even more dangerous by the lethal advance of technology.With characteristic self-effacing modesty, the pilots, gunners, navigators and engineers tell of acts of great heroism, of dreadful injuries bravely borne, and personal fears overcome in the heat of battle. A comprehensive account of RAF Bomber operations on the infamous German warship Tirpitz is included, alongside many other similarly dramatic episodes. The gentle and unassuming narratives convey the sense of purpose that these men felt, employed in some of the most dangerous yet vital operations of the war. It is a fitting tribute to those that survived and the many thousands who died in the struggle against Hitler's dreadful ambitions in Europe.This is the biography of Henry Crowe whose career encompassed time as an infantryman with the Royal Irish Regiment during…
the First World War, an observer with the RFC and fledgling RAF, a pilot in Ireland at the time of the Irish War of Independence, a photographic officer and flight commander in Iraq, and Commanding Officer of Nos. 23 and 74 Squadrons. His memories of time spent in Iraq and on the North West Frontier between the wars have a real resonance today, illustrating just how little has changed in some respects.Henry served at the Air Ministry in various positions and concluded his service with the RAF in India, retiring as an Air Commodore in 1945. He had a keen interest in photography and took hundreds of images of the places he served, the aircraft he flew and saw, and the people he met. With an early Bell and Howell cine camera he also captured film of Malta, Iraq and India between the wars. As a photographic record alone this book is fascinating. But Henry wrote about his experiences as well and it is his memoirs that form the backbone of this biography, written with the full backing of his family.Henry Crowe was highly decorated and especially well thought of during the course of his career; reading Bob Crosseys account of his fascinating life, it is clear to see why.Logistics in the Falklands War: A Case Study in Expeditionary Warfare
By Kenneth L. Privratsky. 2016
A military logistics expert analyzes the detailed coordination employed by the British during the Falklands War in 1982. While many…
books have been written on the Falklands War, this is the first to focus on the vital aspect of logistics. The challenges were huge: the lack of preparation time, the urgency, the huge distances involved, and the need to requisition ships from trade to name but four. After a brief discussion of events leading to Argentina&’s invasion, the book details the rush to re-organize and deploy forces, dispatch a large task force, the innovative solutions needed to sustain the task force, the vital staging base at Ascension Island, the in-theatre resupply, the set-backs, and finally the restoring of order after victory. Had the logistics plan failed, victory would have been impossible and humiliation inevitable, with no food for the troops, no ammunition for the guns, no medical support for casualties, etc. The lessons learned have never been more important with increasing numbers of out-of-area operations required in remote trouble spots at short notice. The Falklands experience is crucial for the education of new generations of military planners and fascinating for military buffs, and this book fills an important gap.&“With inadequate training, little intelligence, no contingency plan, a politically driven rush and at 8,000 miles, it is not surprising that logistics during Op CORPORATE were confusing and challenging. It has taken a US Army general to explain why. We should all be grateful.&” —Michael Clapp, Commander Amphibious Task Force&“A timely book that explores the logistical challenges of projecting decisive combat power across transoceanic distances.&” —Marine Corps GazetteA meticulously researched biography of a young officer in the early part of the 19th Century. The son of an…
admiral, Richard Purvis went to sea in Nelson's Navy at the age of 11 before being commissioned at the age of 15 into the Bengal Army, part of the great East India Company. He went on to serve 17 years in India before returning to become a country parson.The emphasis of this book is on his Indian military service, with the story told largely through an extensive collection of previously unpublished contemporary letters. These give a unique and intimate insight into the daily lives, difficulties, ethos and humour of young British officers in India during the Napoleonic period. There was, of course, danger and action too and Purvis's role in the Nepal War is described. Patronage was also a feature of a young ambitious man's life during the Georgian period and the workings of this are fascinatingly revealed.Allied Tanks of the Second World War (Images of War)
By Michael Green. 2017
Expert author Michael Green has compiled a full inventory of the tanks developed and deployed by the Allied armies during…
the six year war against Nazi Germany and her Axis partners.There were four categories of tank: Light, Medium, Heavy and Super Heavy. Combat experience proved Light tanks (such as the Stuart and T-26) to be ineffective. Medium tanks (the US M4 series, named Sherman by the British, and Russian T-34) soon dominated with their fire power, protection and mobility.The later stages of the War required the Allies to answer the Axis Panther and Tiger tanks with up-gunned and up-armoured second generation M4s, T-34-85s and the Sherman Firefly. Totally new heavy tanks such as the M-26, Pershing, Soviet KV-1 series and the British Centurion only saw action in the final months.Allied Tanks of the Second World War covers all these categories in detail as well as the few super heavy tanks such as the French Char 2C and the TOG. For an informed and highly illustrated work this book has no comparable rival.Valor in Vietnam: Chronicles of Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice: 1963-1977
By Allen B. Clark. 2012
&“A well-informed, compelling compilation of the &‘up close and personal&’ side of the Vietnam War . . . [a] masterful chronicle of…
first person stories&” (Vice Admiral David B. Robinson, USN, Ret., Navy Cross recipient). Every war continues to dwell in the lives it touched, in the lives of those living through that time, and in those absorbed by its historical significance. The Vietnam War lives on—famously or infamously, depending on political points of view—but those who have &“been there, done that&” have a highly personalized window on their time of that history. Valor in Vietnam focuses on nineteen stories of Vietnam, stories of celebrated figures in the veteran community, compelling war narratives, vignettes of battles, and the emotional impact on the combatants. It is replete with leadership lessons and valuable insights that are just as applicable today as they were forty years ago. This is an anecdotal history of America&’s war in Vietnam composed of firsthand narratives by Vietnam War veterans presented in chronological order. They are intense, emotional, and highly personal stories. Connecting each of them is a brief historical commentary of that period of the war, the geography of the story, and the contemporary strategy written by Lewis Sorley, West Point class of 1956, and author of A Better War and Westmoreland. With a foreword by Lt. Gen. Dave R. Palmer, US Army (Ret.), Valor in Vietnam presents an overview of the war through the eyes of participants in each branch of service and throughout the entire course of the war. Simply put, their stories serve to reflect the commitment, honor, and dedication with which America&’s veterans performed their service.Armoured Warfare from the Riviera to the Rhine, 1944–1945 (Images of War)
By Anthony Tucker-Jones. 2016
While the Allied armies were deadlocked with the Germans in Normandy after D-Day and even as they broke out and…
began their long advance, another campaign was being fought against the Germans in southern France and it is this campaign, which is often neglected in accounts of the liberation of Europe, that is the subject of Anthony Tucker-Joness latest photographic history. In a sequence of over 150 wartime photographs he tells the story, from the amphibious invasion of the French Riviera Operation Dragoon to the battle at Montelimar, the forcing of the Belfort gap, the destruction of German resistance in the Colmar pocket and the entry of Allied forces into southern Germany. His concise narrative gives a graphic overview of each phase of the operations, and the selection of photographs shows the American, French and German forces in action. The mechanized and armoured units and their equipment are a particular feature of the book. The photographs are a valuable visual record of the tanks, guns, jeeps and trucks the most up-to-date military vehicles and weaponry of the time as they moved along the roads and through the towns and countryside of southern France.The Art of Military Deception
By Mark Lloyd. 2003
This in-depth analysis of military deception examines tactics employed across centuries and continents, from ancient times to WWII. The art…
of military deception is as old as warfare itself. It has been a vital part of virtually every successful campaign ever recorded, and yet has been largely overlooked in the annals of military history. In The Art of Military Deception, Mark Lloyd corrects this oversight with a wide-ranging analysis of strategies and tactics through the ages. Lloyd treats this much-neglected aspect of warfare thematically rather than chronologically covering such topics as disinformation campaigns, lies on the home front, and psychological warfare. He draws on a wide range of examples to show the elaborate techniques which have been employed in the struggle to outwit the enemy. Particularly fascinating is his analysis of the fatal error of self-deception.Confederate Generals of North Carolina: Tar Heels in Command (Civil War Ser.)
By Joe A Mobley. 2012
A look at the generals who were either born in the state or directly commanded its troops, including Braxton Bragg,…
Louis Addison Armistead, and others. Confederate Generals of North Carolina provides a brief but compelling biography of each of the forty-six Confederate Generals who served from North Carolina during the Civil War. Each biography includes, in addition to the war service, a summary of a general&’s prewar and postwar careers. Author Joe Mobley (editor of the North Carolina Historical Review) also discusses the generals collectively: how many were killed or wounded, who attended West Point before the war, who achieved the highest levels of success both on and off the battlefield, and more. &“The Old North State could also boast some of the finest general officers in the Confederate army. Mobley provides a biographical sketch of each general&’s life with emphasis on his Confederate service record—as well as a wartime image of each.&” —Civil War NewsThe Burden-Sharing Dilemma: Coercive Diplomacy in US Alliance Politics (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
By Brian D. Blankenship. 2023
The Burden-Sharing Dilemma examines the conditions under which the United States is willing and able to pressure its allies to…
assume more responsibility for their own defense. The United States has a mixed track record of encouraging allied burden-sharing—while it has succeeded or failed in some cases, it has declined to do so at all in others. This variation, Brian D. Blankenship argues, is because the United States tailors its burden-sharing pressure in accordance with two competing priorities: conserving its own resources and preserving influence in its alliances. Although burden-sharing enables great power patrons like the United States to lower alliance costs, it also empowers allies to resist patron influence. Blankenship identifies three factors that determine the severity of this burden-sharing dilemma and how it is managed: the latent military power of allies, the shared external threat environment, and the level of a patron's resource constraints. Through case studies of US alliances formed during the Cold War, he shows that a patron can mitigate the dilemma by combining assurances of protection with threats of abandonment and by exercising discretion in its burden-sharing pressure. Blankenship's findings dismantle assumptions that burden-sharing is always desirable but difficult to obtain. Patrons, as the book reveals, can in fact be reluctant to seek burden-sharing, and attempts to pass defense costs to allies can often be successful. At a time when skepticism of alliance benefits remains high and global power shifts threaten longstanding pacts, The Burden-Sharing Dilemma recalls and reconceives the value of burden-sharing and alliances.Girl With A Sniper Rifle: An Eastern Front Memoir
By Yulia Zhukova. 2019
A memoir of a graduate of Stalin&’s Central Women&’s Sniper School and her experience during World War II. Yulia Zhukova…
was a dedicated member of the Soviet communist youth organization, the Komsomol, and her parents worked for Russia&’s secret police, the NKVD. Yulia started at the sniper school near Podolsk in western Russian and eventually became a valued soldier during operations against Prussia. In this powerful account, she shares firsthand knowledge of the machinations of the NKVD, as well as the bravery of a female sniper and the grueling toll of war. Yulia persevered through eight months of training before leaving for the Front just days after qualifying. Joining the third Belorussian Front, her battalion endured rounds of German mortar, as well as loudspeaker announcements beckoning them to join the German side. She spent days in the field undergoing regular, terrifying one-on-one encounters with the enemy. Eventually she felt the euphoria of her first hit—while reflecting on ending a life. These feelings fade as Yulia recounts the barbarous actions of Hitler&’s Nazi Germany. She recalls how the women were once nearly overrun by Germans at their house when other Red Army formations had moved off and failed to tell them. She also details a nine-day standoff they endured encircled by Germans in Landsberg. Regularly suffering ill-health, she took a shrapnel injury and underwent surgery without anesthetic. Eventually she would see the end of the war. Like her famous counterpart Pavlichenko, Zhukova gained recognition but struggled to come to terms with war service . . . Includes notes by John Walter and an introduction by Martin PeglerMedieval Combat in Colour: A Fifteenth-Century Manual of Swordfighting and Close-Quarter Combat
By Hans Talhoffer. 2018
Hans Talhoffer's professional fencing manual of 1467 illustrates the intricacies of the medieval art of fighting, covering both the 'judicial…
duel' (an officially sanctioned fight to resolve a legal dispute) and personal combat.Combatants in the Middle Ages used footwork, avoidance, and the ability to judge and manipulate timing and distance to exploit and enhance the sword's inherent cutting and thrusting capabilities. These skills were supplemented with techniques for grappling, wrestling, kicking and throwing the opponent, as well as disarming him by seizing his weapon. Every attack contained a defence and every defence a counter-attack. Talhoffer reveals the techniques for wrestling, unarmoured fighting with the long sword, pole-axe, dagger, sword and buckler, and mounted combat.This unparalleled guide to medieval combat, illustrated with 268 contemporary images, provides a glimpse of real people fighting with skill, sophistication and ruthlessness. This is one of the most popular and influential manuals of its kind.German Naval Camouflage, 1942–1945: 1942 - 1945
By John Asmussen, Eric Leon. 2014
Second in &“the most complete and authoritative set of books ever written on the color schemes used by the Kriegsmarine…
throughout World War II&” (Great Models). This book completes a highly original and superbly illustrated two-volume survey of German naval camouflage and markings in the Nazi era. On first publication in 2012, the 1939-1941 volume was quickly recognized by warship enthusiasts and modelmakers as a major step forward in the understanding of a complex and much debated topic. It is already considered the standard reference, and this second volume is keenly awaited. Although a few crucial documents have recently come to light, this study is largely based on close scrutiny of all available photos, including many newly discovered, collated with the first-hand testimony of Kriegsmarine survivors. After decades of study, the authors are probably the world&’s leading experts, and their work challenges many accepted views, while greatly expanding the general understanding of the subject. The fruits of their labors are presented in the form of exquisite color illustrations of every scheme and variation for which evidence is available. This volume covers all major surviving ships down to destroyers from 1942 to the end of the war, and adds a new section on torpedo boats. While there can never be a last word on such an elusive and poorly documented subject, these two volumes will remain the most authoritative work in the field for many years to come.&“Impressive, wonderful and indispensable for both historians and modelers or naval wargamers.&” —Miniaturas JM&“Stuffed with great images . . . and perfectly detailed information, superbly illustrating one of the first major international crises of the…
Cold War.&” —Vintage Airfix During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, Stalin decided to make the Allied hold on West Berlin untenable by shutting down all the overland routes used to keep the city supplied. The choice faced by the Allies was a stark one—let Berlin fall, or risk war with the Soviets by breaking the Soviet stranglehold. In a remarkably visionary move, the Allies decided that they could keep Berlin supplied by flying over the Soviet blockade, thus avoiding armed conflict with the USSR. On 26 June 1948, the Berlin Airlift began. Throughout the following thirteen months, more than 266,600 flights were undertaken by the men and aircraft from the US, France, Britain and across the Commonwealth, which delivered in excess of 2,223,000 tons of food, fuel and supplies in the greatest airlift in history. The air-bridge eventually became so effective that more supplies were delivered to Berlin than had previously been shipped overland and Stalin saw that his bid to seize control of the German capital could never succeed. At one minute after midnight on 12 May 1949, the Soviet blockade was lifted, and the Soviet advance into Western Europe was brought to a shuddering halt. &“The book is packed full of fascinating photographs detailing the huge variety of aircraft involved in the airlift, each accompanied by detailed explanations and text. The book is a fitting tribute to the aircrew who lost their lives in this incredible operation.&” —Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)No Cloak, No Dagger: Allied Spycraft in Occupied France
By Benjamin Cowburn. 2009
This classic WWII spy memoir by an agent of the UK&’s Special Operations Executive offers a firsthand look at Allied…
espionage inside Nazi Occupied France. In this gripping memoir, SOE agent Benjamin Cowburn vividly recounts the methods of British special agents who were dropped into Vichy France during World War II with a mission of establishing secure networks with the French Resistance. His account sheds light on the views of both the Resistance fighters facing torture at the hands of the Gestapo and their besieged French countrymen. Cowburn also shares fascinating insight into the art of spying from establishing a worthy target to executing an operation. He tells the full story of his own sabotage operations, including the destruction of cylinders for thirteen locomotives in the dead of night. As in so many operations, mistakes were made which could have led to numerous arrests. In this case, the details of the operation had accidentally been left on a blackboard in the school where they had planned the raid, but were luckily scrubbed out by the headmaster's wife. On another occasion, Cowburn snuck itching powder into the laundry of Luftwaffe agents to cause a disruption. This new edition contains an Introduction by M.R.D. Foot and a Foreword by Sebastian Faulks.Operation Mayhem
By Damien Lewis, Mc Steve Heaney. 2023
'Captures the confusion, black humour, raw courage and sheer exhilaration of combat brilliantly' THE TIMES'Read this account of his stint…
with the 26-man strong X Platoon in the sweltering jungle, living on grubs, outnumbered 80 to one, battling heavily armed rebels with bamboo sticks and home-made grenades, and you'll be asking the question... Why wasn't he given TWO MCs?' SUNDAY SPORT2,000 blood-crazed rebels. 26 elite British soldiers. One man's explosive true story.Airlifted into the heart of the Sierra Leone jungle in the midst of the bloody civil war in 2000, 26 elite operators from the secret British elite unit X Platoon were sent into combat against thousands of Sierra Leonean rebels.Notorious for their brutality, the rebels were manned with captured UN armour, machine-guns and grenade-launchers, while the men of X Platoon were kitted with pitiful supplies of ammunition, malfunctioning rifles, and no body armour, grenades or heavy weapons.Intended to last only 48 hours, the mission mutated into a 16-day siege against the rebels, as X Platoon were denied the back-up and air support they had been promised, and were forced to make their stand alone. The half-starved soldiers, surviving on bush tucker, fought with grenades made from old food-tins and defended themselves with barricades made of sharpened sticks.Sergeant Steve Heaney won the Military Cross for his initiative in taking command after the platoon lost their commanding officer. OPERATION MAYHEM recounts his amazing untold true story, full of the rough-and-ready humour and steely fortitude with which these elite soldiers carried out operations far into hostile terrain.This pictorial history of US aircraft carriers illustrates the many classes and types of carriers used by the navy from…
before WWII to the present day. In 1922 the US Navy commissioned its first small experimental aircraft carrier. This was followed into service by two much larger carriers in 1927 with five more being built— including three large Yorktown class—prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Then, to take the offensive against the Japanese Navy, the American Congress funded by far the largest carrier-building program in history. Since 1975, when the first of a fleet of ten nuclear-powered Nimitz class carriers was commissioned, The United States Navy&’s fleet of carriers has optimized its superpower status and worldwide power projection. Yet these are due to be replaced in the decades to come with the even more sophisticated nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford class. Compiled and written by Michael Green, Aircraft Carriers of the United States Navy contains superb images of all the different types of classes of carriers employed by the US Navy since 1922. These and its highly informative text and captions give the reader a broad overview of this fascinating subject.The Race for Hitler's X-Planes: Britain's 1945 Mission to Capture Secret Luftwaffe Technology
By John Christopher. 2013
During World War 2, Hitler’s engineers had pioneered an incredible array of futuristic secret weapons, from the Me 262, the…
first operational jet fighter, to the deadly V2 inter continental ballistic missile. With the Third Reich shattered and lying in ruins, in the summer of 1945, the Allies launched a frantic race to grab what they saw as the justifiable spoils of war. The Americans and Russians in particular were anxious to secure not only the aircraft and the research and production facilities, but also the key German scientists and engineers.This Nazi technology would define the balance of power in the phoney peace of the Cold War era, launching an arms race that shaped our modern world for decades to come. But what of Britain’s role in this supermarket sweep? The Race for Hitler’s X-Planes tells the untold story of the British mission to Germany.