"Provides a fresh and invaluable explanation of the military and political events of that extraordinary campaign." — Scale Military Modeller InternationalAfter the long winter of the Phoney War, the invasion of the Low Countries and France by Hitler's rampaging armies threw the world into crisis. Chamberlain's government fell, Churchill became Prime Minister. France was humiliated, the British Expeditionary Force was only saved by the miracle of Dunkirk but...

Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck was born in India and raised in conditions of near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished despite his Indian Army background and he was the first Commander of 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he stopped Rommel's Afrika Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became C in C India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruct...

On 23 April 1918 a force drawn from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines launched one of the most daring raids in history. The aim was to block the Zeebrugge Canal, thereby denying U-boat access, although this meant assaulting a powerfully fortified German naval base. The raid has long been recognised for its audacity and ingenuity but, owing to the fact that the official history took overmuch notice of the German version of events, has been considered only a partial success. The error of that...

One of the lasting legacies of World War 2 was the proliferation of what today are known as Special Forces. At the time many soldiers, often of high rank regarded these units as nothing short of ill-disciplined cowboys or worse! However desperate times called for desperate measures and there were those in high places who were prepared to take risks. As specially recruited units such as the LRDG, SAS and SBS earned their spurs and scored significant victories, at high cost both to the enemy...

Nearly ninety years ago, on 31st July 1917, the small Belgian village of Passchendaele became the focus for one of the most gruelling, bloody and bizarre battles of World War 1. By 6th November, when Passchendaele village and the ridge were captured, over half a million British, French, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Germans had become casualties. Philip Warner, the noted historian of twentieth-century warfare and the author of over fifty books on military history, many publish...

In the Middle Ages the castle was an important military and administrative centre, essentially utilitarian in its design and in the purposes it served. Because it played so central a role in medieval history, and because the wealth of material is so great, the author has concentrated on English seiges undertaken in the period from the Norman Conquest to the War of the Roses. This includes many dramatic actions fought on the continental dominions of the English Crown such as Chateau Gaillar...

To maintain the link of communication between battlefields and HQ, between commanders and soldiers, between physically distant Corps is the vital job of the Royal Signal. But the responsibility of the Signals extends beyond the logistical requirements of inter-personal contact Electronic Intelligence and Electronic Warfare are major departments within the organisation, each of which supports the other. The Vital Link examines these diverse aspects and traces the complex developments in tec...

The story of the shadowy special reconnaissance unit whose intelligence helped the Allies win World War II.It operated in Italy, Sicily, Austria, France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. It was at Dieppe with the Commandos, in France with the SAS, at Arnhem with Airborne, and in Germany until the surrender.Phantom—aka GHQ Liaison Regiment—was one of the most secret and most effective of the wartime special regiments. It was formed in 1939 with the mission of ...

Among the British troops bound for the Black Sea in May 1854 was a young officer in the 5th Dragoon Guards, Richard Temple Godman, who sent home throughout the entire Crimea campaign many detailed letters to his family at Park Hatch in Surrey. Temple Godman went out at the start of the war, took part in the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava and in other engagements, and did not return to England until June 1856, after peace had been declared. He took three very individual...

Dervish is the vivid and colourful story of one of the more remarkable episodes in the high Empire period of British history. The Mahdis rising in the Sudan in the 1880s starting as a localized Holy War against the decadent Turkish/Egyptian overlords, engulfed a million square miles of arid territory and forced the British Liberal Government to get involved after the early disasters of the Hicks expedition and Gordons death at Khartoum.The narrative, which makes excellent use of the first-...

The author gives a vivid account of Scottish military history from the coming of the Romans to Scotland to the Battle of Culloden in 1746. There are detailed descriptions of sixteen of the most important battles with up-to-date maps which enable the reader and visitor to find and understand the sites.

Very few living men have taken part in a battle, and many must wonder how they would acquit themselves if ever they had to. A medieval battle was a very complex affair; it was far from being a simple kill or be killed. It could be won or lost at any stage; it could turn on the action of one man, and it could settle nothing, or alternatively the fate of a nation. But for the majority, when thinking of a battle, the overriding question would be: how would I behave? What would happen to me? Woul...