Warfare in the Ancient World

Warfare in the Ancient World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe between the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millenium BC and the fall of Rome. Through a exploration of twenty-six selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and hevay and light cavalry - focusing on how shock and missile combat evolved from tentative beginnings in the Bronze Age to the highly developed military organization created by the Romans. The art of warfare reached a very sophisticated level of development during this three millenia span. Commanders fully realized the tactical capabilities of shock and missile combat in large battlefield situations. Modern principles of war, like the primacy of the offensive, mass, and economy of force, were understood by pre-modern generals and applied on battlefields throughout the period. Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilization’s ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair historians alike.

History

Brian Todd Carey

Ancient Civilizations

Penn & Sword Books

A brilliant and prolific collection of rare photographs celebrating the war-winning qualities of arguably the most important tank of the Second World War. Many of the marvelous images have never been seen before but thanks to the author, who has special access to the IWM archive they are now available with full authoritative captions.

Sherman Tank: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

Birch, Gavin

Military

This amazing airplane first flew in 1949 and is still in front-line service with the RAF. It has served in a variety of roles including those of tactical bomber, photo-reconnaissance, navigational trainer, maritime strike, electronic countermeasures and target-towing. It was manufactured in the USA under license as the Martin B-57 and has been exported to Argentina, Chile, India, Peru, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries. This book looks at the development of the aircraft during the early days of jet power and especially at its Rolls-Royce Avon power plant. Each of the many marks and variants are described and illustrated by many remarkable and rare photographs. The type's record of service with RAF squadrons throughout its service life is given together with descriptions of the many experimental models that were used in the development of a variety of weapons and avionic systems.

English Electric Canberra: The History & Development of a Classic Jet (Pen and Sword Large Format Aviation Books)

Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore

Europe

The Soviet T-34 medium tank was one of the most famous and effective fighting vehicles of the Second World War. Along with the German Tiger and the American Sherman, it was a milestone in tank design that changed the course of the conflict. Much has been written about the technical history of the tank and the vital part it played in the huge tank battles on the Eastern Front, but less has been said about the men who went to war in the T-34 and lived, fought and sometimes died in these remarkable machines. This pioneering book, which is based on extensive interviews with tank crews, records their experiences and offers a compelling inside view of armored warfare in the mid-twentieth century.

T-34 in Action

Artem Drabkin

Oleg Sheremet

This is a unique account of the development and operational use of air-to-air flight refuelling since its early beginnings in the USA and the UK to the equipment that is in use today. The author draws upon his life-long career as senior design engineer with the successful British company In-Flight Refuelling who were responsible for the development of the hose and drogue technique now preferred by many of the world's air forces. The story begins in the early 1920s when the art of air refuelling was part of the Barn Storming record-breaking attempts that were popular in the USA. It continues into the late thirties when successful experiments were made. Amazingly, the Royal Air Force were not interested in pursuing this great technical advantage during World War II and it was the USAAF who requested the British invention to experiment with on their B-17s and B-24s. The Korean War saw extended use of operational air-to-air refuelling for the first time and now the 'tanker fleet' is an essential unit in major air-forces around the world.

History of Air-to-Air Refuelling

There is no more illustrious warship name in British naval history H.M.S. Victory, which is inextricably linked with Admiral Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. This fascinating book, the latest in the Famous Warships of the Royal Navy series, clebrates all three at the 200th anniversary of Nelson's greatest triumph and his death in H.M.S. Victory.What is less well-known is that six warships before Nelson's carried the name Victory, the first bieng Sir John Hawkins' during the Battle of the Armada in 1588. All manner of maritime life is included in this book, from piracy in the Azores to gentlemanly encounters between the fleets as well as the battle of annihilation that was Trafalgar. The full horror, majesty and thunder of naval warfare in the age of fighting sail are revealed through the first-hand accounts of those who were there.Superbly illustrated, well-researched and written by two leading maritime experts, H.M.S. Victory will be enjoyed by all those for whom naval heritage, Nelson and his ship hold a fascination.

H.M.S. Victory: Warships of the Royal Navy

Ballantyne, Iain

Eastland, Jonathan

“Enthralling eye witness histories” John Keegan On the night of 17-18 August 1943, RAF Bomber Command attacked a remote research establishment on the German Baltic coast. The site was Peenemünde, where Hitler’s scientists were developing both the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket whose destructive powers could have swung the course of the War. The raid was meticulously planned and hopes were high. But the night sky was so cloudless that the British bombers presented an easy target for German night fighters, and over 40 were lost. Martin Middlebrook draws on the memories of over 400 people involved in the dramatic events on that night: RAF and Luftwaffe aircrew, German personnel at the research site and foreign laborers who had been forced to work there. The result is a truly compelling account of this hazardous attempt to disrupt Hitler’s V-weapons program.

Peenemunde Raid: The Night of 17-18 August 1943

Churchill's Secret Weapon

In the dark days when Britain stood alone, Prime Minister Churchill realised that, to win the war against an enemy superior in strength, science had to be harnessed to devise new weapons. Three men had Churchill's confidence; Lord Cherwell (the Prof), his brilliant main scientific adviser; Millis Jefferis who ran MDI (The Toy Factory); and an irascible and eccentric Major General Percy Hobart. Despite being Monty's brother-in-law and a talented tank expert, Hobart had been banished to the Home Guard. Churchill rescued him and tasked him to form, equip and train a secret armored division which went on to storm the Normandy Beaches. Hobart was the mastermind behind an extraordinary collection of tank-based secret weapons (known as Hobart's Funnies) which supported every British and Canadian army and many US divisions for the rest of the War.

Churchill's Secret Weapons: The Story of Hobart's Funnies

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

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