In 1940 a British offensive in the Western Desert provoked a major Italian military disaster. By early February 1941 the whole of Cyrenaica had been lost, and German help became necessary to avoid the
This work examines the spiritual world of the samurai, from their attachment to Japan's mainstream religions of Shinto and Buddhism, to their involvement in Confucianism, Christianity and Folk Religio
The pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded P-51 Mustang, take off from Iwo Jima (a postage-stamp
From the beginning of the 11th century onwards, the constant sate of war amongst the various Indian kingdoms left them open to outside attack, and Muslim Turkic tribesmen began to pour over the north-
Adding a figure to a kit or display can increase both depth and interest, yet building and painting figures continues to be a source of frustration to many armour modelers. This book provides full det
Napoleon's last 'Campaign of France' in 1814 proved to be one of his most brilliant during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). He relied as never before on committing his elite Imperial Guard cavalry to
The Bell Huey Cobra was the very first purpose-designed helicopter gunship to become operational and to see combat. Designed in the mid-1960s as an "interim solution" for an armed escort and close-su
The ‘Spanish Main’ – the Spanish possessions in the West Indies and the Central American and Mexican coast – was the envy of Englishmen, Frenchmen and Dutchmen from the 16th to the 19th centuries. To
The B-2A ‘Spirit’ was an aircraft conceived to fight the Cold War (1946-1991) but which has proved invaluable to both the ‘New World Order’ and more recently the ‘War on Terrorism’. The combination of
The PzKpfw V Panther is considered to be one of the finest tanks of World War II due to its combination of mobility, firepower and armour. Developed as a response to the Soviet deployment of heavy arm
In 1943, Hitler ordered his forces to occupy the Italian mainland to protect the Third Reich's 'soft underbelly'. After the successfulthe Allied landings in Salerno, the Germans fought a series of har
Since 1983, the firepower, protection and stock action of the Challenger Main Battle Tanks has been instrumental to the success of British forces. In addition to the familiar gun tanks, the Challenger
With the exception of the key royal sites, such as Stirling and Edinburgh, few Scottish castles were located at strategic points, or were intended to house garrisons required to defend or subjugate to
The Anglo-Irish War has often been referred to as the war 'the English have struggled to forget and the Irish cannot help but remember'. Before 1919, the issue of Irish Home Rule lurked beneath the su
The development of the B-1B Lancer bomber was difficult to say the least. Originally conceived to fulfill a USAF requirement for an Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft, the original B-1A concept aircra
In 1462 the throne of the Principality of Moscow passed to the Ivan III (1462-1505), who succeeded in throwing off the Tatar yoke. For the next 200 years this new state struggled to maintain her borde
Osprey's examination of German forces prior to World War II (1939-1945). The Condor Legion was the expeditionary force of soldiers and airmen sent by Hitler to aid Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish
The T-55 tank first appeared in 1958, a result of numerous improvements made to the (1949) T-54 series, and with a lineage stretching back to the wartime T-34 and the T-44. The T-55 series has seen se
Hitler's Third Reich was on the brink of total ruin in mid-April 1945, and the Red Army was poised less than 60 miles to the east and ready to seize the German capital. Peter Antill describes the even
Following the battle for Crete in May 1941, Hitler refused to undertake any further large-scale airborne operations due to the high casualty rate. The Fallschirmjager subsequently took up a new role a
In January 1944, the Allies decided to land at Anzio in order to overcome the stalemate at Cassino.This amphibious landing has become one of the most controversial campaigns of World War II (1939-1945
This book outlines the history of theatres and music halls from the late 16th century to the present time, noting changing fashions in entertainment and evolving official attitudes to safety that have
The Yak-1 entered Soviet service in 1941, one of three modern types of aircraft accepted for production just prior to the German invasion of the USSR. Despite initial shortcomings, it soon proved to b
The story of a small town that rose to become the most powerful empire of the ancient world has been an inspiration to generations of people. Even after the collapse of the Roman Empire, many nations
Following the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, European colonists brought their system of fortification to the New World in an attempt to ensure their safety and consolidate their conquests.
Dedicated to the life of the average US soldier during World War I, this book follows the doughboy during the course of the war: from conscription, arrival at a training facility, transportation to Eu
The first deployment of the V-1 was in June 1944 when, following two years of tests, Hitler gave the order to attack England. Known to the Allies as the "Buzz Bomb" or "Doodlebug", the V-1 was the wor
In 1916, Britain was finally forced to introduce universal conscription to replace the terrible casualties suffered by the pre-war Regulars, the Territorials and the eager but unprepared volunteers of
The adoption of blitzkrieg tactics in the German Army prior to the start of World War II meant that Germany needed a new kind of fighting vehicle to transport troops around the battlefield in support
By 1960, following Korea, tanks and their crews had proved themselves to be a fundamental part of the Marine Corps' combined arms team. When the Marines were ordered to Vietnam in 1965, they took thei
This title examines the development of the Colonial Rangers in this period, and shows how they were taught to survive in the woods, to fight hand-to-hand, to scalp a fallen foe, and to fight across al
The Waffen-SS grew from a handful of obscure infantry battalions in 1939, to a force of more than 30 divisions by the end of World War II, including units of every type and every level of battlefield
The 49th FG was sent to Australia in early 1942 to help stem the tide of Japanese conquest in Java. Too late to save the island, the group went into action in the defence of Darwin, Australia, where t
The American manufactured F-4 Phantom II was used by the Israelis in air-to-ground missions, as an attack aircraft, and air-to-air missions as a fighter. Despite performing both roles with equal succe
There were many elements to British Napoleonic naval success but one of the key factors was gunnery. Other countries developed different naval weapons to fit their maritime strategies. The French and
The years 1915–17 of World War I saw the Imperial German Army forced to adapt to the new realities of static trench warfare. Prewar uniforms and equipment had to be modified, for both utility and econ
During the middle decade of the 16th century a new type of sailing vessel emerged, designed to carry the wealth of the Americas to Spain. This was the galleon, and over the next century these vessels
In 1914 the artillery of Britain's 'Field Army' encompassed those weapons judged to have sufficient mobility to keep up with troops in the field. This book describes all major variants, from the 60-pd
The outbreak of World War II set in motion a massive expansion of the United States Marine Corps, leading to a 24-fold increase in size by August 1945. This book is the first of several volumes to exa
Flown exclusively by the US Marines, the PBJ was one of those rare examples of an air force type being procured by the navy due to its ability to do exactly the job that was required of it. Bought as
