Books

When General Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy was in crisis. Lee changed all that in a brilliant, week-long campaign. On 26 June the Confederates struck, fighting two hard-fought battles in two days at...

Throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, France's most consistent enemy on land was the Austrian Empire. Austria's huge armies played a central part in the several coalitions against France, from the 1790s, to the Austerlitz campaign of 1805,...

This book examines the LaGG family of fighters, that were amongst the first modern piston-engined interceptors made available to the Red Air Forces in early 1941and proved far better fighters than their radial-engined predecessors. Despite technical...

The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the formidable concrete...

From the high-walls and cheering crowds of the Coliseum to the dark dungeons where prisoners spent their last peaceful moments, Konstantin Nossov brings the world of the Roman gladiator to life. Using the latest research, Konstantin reconstructs the...

This title details the epic four-month siege of the city of Constantinople, last vestige of the once mighty Roman and Byzantine Empires. Mehmet 'The Conqueror' led an army of 80,000 men with a massive siege train against the city. Defending were a mere...

The most produced Japanese bomber of the war the G4M saw action on every front from the first day of the Pacific conflict through to VJ-Day. The 'Betty's' very long range made it a key weapon during the opening year of the war. However, to achieve this,...

The outbreak of World War I found the British Army's Royal Flying Corps with just over 200 fragile, unarmed reconnaissance aircraft, and a uniformed strength of just over 2,000 all ranks; the Royal Naval Air Service had some 50 seaplanes. By the...

The hop has been intimately involved in social history for many centuries- it has caused controversy due to its role in the brewing process and was for centuries the centre of a social phenomenon, with thousands descending on hop-producing regions during...

ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK. This book examines the uniforms, equipment, history and organisation of the troops that fought in Cambodia in the 1970s. US and Cambodian forces are all covered, including Special Operations, and the course of the war is...

The Chasseurs of the Guard had its origins in the Guides raised by General Bonaparte during his Italian Campaign of 1796. Not only did the Chasseurs prove to be excellent soldiers, but they also served as Napoleon's immediate escort whenever he went on...

The radio has been part of home entertainment for over 75 years and generations of listeners have enjoyed their favourite music or programmes, or sat enthralled as an historic event unfolded through the radio's loudspeakers. This book explores the...

A monograph on Fox Talbot, universally recognised as the father of modern photography.

In the summer of 1642 the First Civil War between king and parliament had broken out in England. Initially both sides were confident of victory, but after the first campaigns ended in stalemate they began looking for allies. The meddling of the Stuart...

This volume - covering the final years of the Peninsular War and the long trek over the Pyrenees into France - concludes the author's remarkable in-depth study of the army that fought alongside Wellington's redcoats throughout the Peninsular War. Prior...

In this worthy addition to the Men-at-Arms series, Martin Windrow examines the history and uniforms of the French Foreign Legion from the start of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. The author's knowledgeable text covers such topics...

Napoleon's Imperial Guard was one of the most famous military formations in history. The Imperial Guard could perform ceremonial duties as well as any, but it was primarily as an .lite combat formation of the army that it excelled. Although it would...

The medium bomber 'workhorse' of the Ninth Air Force, Martin's much-maligned B-26 Marauder recovered from its poor start with the Eighth Air Force to go on and equip no less than eight bomber groups in the ETO. Although initially dubbed 'the widow...

France had a population of between 22 and 25 million at this time, and maintained the largest standing army in Europe. In peacetime it might have amounted to about 200,000 men; in times of war, it could be anything up to half a million. A substantial...

Vietnam was the US Special Forces most complex and controversial mission, one that began in 1957 and ended in 1973. Camp strike forces, mobile strike forces, mobile guerrilla forces, special reconnaissance projects, training missions and headquarters...

During this period, the British army earned itself a formidable reputation as a fighting force. However, due to its role as a police force at home, and demonisation by American propaganda, the army was viewed as little removed from a penal institution...

The Covenanter (which never saw active service) and Crusader Cruiser tanks were developed between 1939 and 1940. The Crusader first saw action in the North African desert in June 1941- its speed and sleek design made it a hard target to hit, and the tank...

The Matilda was the principal British infantry tank in the early years of World War II. It served with the BEF in France and later in North Africa, where it earned the title 'Queen of the Desert'. Outclassed by increasingly powerful German anti-tank...

Totally outnumbered throughout their short two-year sojourn in the Western Desert, the crack fighter pilots of the handful of Jagdgeschwader in-theatre fought an effective campaign in support of Rommel's Afrika Korps against the British and American...

The British assault on Breed's Hill and the burning of Charlestown were the first major battles of the American Revolution; after the events at Boston there was no turning back. This detailed text by Brendan Morrissey explores the opposing commanders and...

The Byzantine Empire's disastrous defeat by the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert in 1071 effectively marked the end of what is often described as the 'middle' period of Byzantine history. Thereafter, surrounded on all sides by younger, more vigorous nations,...

One of the most important naval battles in history, Midway was fought barely six months after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The badly damaged USS Yorktown was repaired in just 48 hours and with Enterprise and Hornet set out to meet the...

Babur, the founder of the Mughul dynasty, was of Turco-Mongol origin he was descended from Timur-i-Lenk Tamerlane on his father's side and Genghiz Khan on his mother's. His first raid into India in 1516 was followed by several others, and by the time of...

The M4 Sherman tank was the mainstay of the Western allies between 1942 and 1945. Fast and modern it was better than most of the tanks Britain had to offer. The American Chief of Staff claimed in November 1943 that it had been hailed widely as 'the best...

This book provides a highly detailed account of the history, organisation, uniforms and insignia of South African Special Forces from their origins up to the early 90s - units such as the 44 Parachute Brigade, the Hunter Group and the infamous SWA Police...

Besides continuing a long history of world-wide peacekeeping, the commitment of US troops to the Gulf reunified the country and restored a national pride lost in the aftermath of Vietnam. It also proved that the US armed forces were again the most...

The announcement of the imminent withdrawal of the British Royal Navy's ice patrol ship HMS Endurance in early 1982 prompted the Argentinian Junta in Buenos Aires to plan a military grab of the Falklands-a siege they assumed would succeed with little...

Although the Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire and faced similar military problems, its solutions were very different. In North Africa, for example, Rome's large army concentrated on securing main roads and urban centres...

Rome's desert frontier was one where the Empire faced few dangers, for here relations were generally based on a mutual interest in trade across the frontier. Yet when Rome did clash with desert peoples, particularly those of Syria and Arabia, the...

The Italian army, unlike those of the British and French, did not use tanks in combat during World War I and, by November 1918, only one training unit equipped with French Schneider and Renault tanks had been formed. This would largely influence the...

Designed in the years following the Korean War and then manufactured for over 30 years starting in 1960, the A-6 quickly became the most capable attack aircraft in the US Navy's stable. The first squadron, VA-75, made its initial deployment directly into...

The Japanese High Command realised that the loss of Okinawa would give the Americans a base for the invasion of Japan. Its desperate response was to unleash the full force of the Special Attack Units, known in the west as the Kamikaze ('Divine Wind'). In...

The light cruiser was a natural development of the sailing frigate - a fast multi-purpose warship that could patrol the sea lanes, protect convoys and scout for enemy battle fleets. By the inter-war period the need for this type of ship was even more...

Originally designed in the mid-1930s as a fast airliner that could be easily adapted for the bombing role, the He 111 first saw action in Spain with the Legion Condor during the civil war. By the time Germany invaded Poland, more than 700 were in service...

Ever since the 15th century Switzerland had been exporting professional soldiers to serve as mercenaries for foreign monarchies. Napoleon, therefore, was not the first to make full use of the martial qualities of the Swiss and obtained Swiss agreement to...

General Omar Bradley was the premier US Army tactical commander in the European Theatre of Operations in 1944-45. A West Point classmate of Dwight Eisenhower, Bradley was the quintessential US field commander of World War II, elevated to high command...

This book tells the story of Task Force Ranger - a unit of US Rangers and Special Forces - and their attempt to capture the lieutenants of the Somali warlord Muhamed Farrah Aideed, during the 1993 United Nations' humanitarian relief mission. What started...

Plataea was one of the biggest and most important land battles of pre-20th century history. Close to 100,000 hoplite and light-armed Greeks took on an even larger barbarian army that included elite Asian cavalry and infantry, and troops from as far away...

The fighting around the town of Demyansk was one of the longest encirclement battles on the Eastern Front during World War II, stretching from February 1942 to February 1943. Originally, the German 16. Armee occupied Demyansk in the autumn of 1941...

Bill' Slim was one of the greatest British generals of World War II. In a career that stretched from 1914 until 1958, Bill Slim's greatest triumphs came in India and Burma in the long war against the Japanese. Thrust into a desperate situation, he...

In the late 19th century, the new nation-state of Italy was eager to join her European neighbours in creating an international empire, and her eyes turned toward Africa as a source of potential colonies. Securing a foothold in Eritrea on the Red Sea...

The MiG-1/3 family of fighters was built to satisfy a Soviet Air Force requirement for an advanced, fast, high-altitude fighter. Entering service in the spring of 1941, the problematic MiG-1 had its handling issues rectified with the hasty production of...

The Fairbairn-Sykes Commando dagger has become iconic as the most widely recognized fighting knife in the world. The origins of the dagger can be traced to Shanghai in the 1930s where W. E. Fairbairn and US Marine officers including Sam Yeaton carried...