"This is an excellent account of a series of very hard fought battles that helped prepare the way for the British re-conquest of Burma." —History of WarRobert Lyman's deep knowledge and understanding of the war in Burma, and the great battles at Kohima and Imphal in 1944, are well known. In this book he uses original documents, published works and personal accounts to weave together an enthralling narrative of some of the bitterest fighting of WWII. Not only does he...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RUSI DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2022'This is a superb book.' - James HollandIn 1941 and 1942 the British and Indian Armies were brutally defeated and Japan reigned supreme in its newly conquered territories throughout Asia. But change was coming. New commanders were appointed, significant training together with restructuring took place, and new tactics were developed. A War of Empires...

'A compelling history.' – The Sunday Times'Thought-provoking.' – The Spectator'Interesting and well-researched.' – The Sunday TelegraphA compelling history of the decline of an army from the triumph of victory in 1918 to defeat in 1940 and why this happened. A salutary warning for modern Britain.The British Army won a convincing series of victories between 1916 and 1...

At nightfall on December 7 1942, twelve British canoeists arrived by submarine off the coast of France, tasked with infiltrating the dockyards of Bordeaux, and wreaking havoc with the German shipping they found there.Manning fragile 'cockles' through the turbulent waters of the Bay of Biscay, and making an assault on a port bristling with German soldiers ordered to execute any Allied Commando they captured, their prospects looked bleak. It was fully expected that all would die in t...

A poignant and powerful portrait of Europe in the years between 1939 and 1941—as the Nazi menace marches toward the greatest man-made catastrophe the world has ever experienced—Under a Darkening Sky focuses on a diverse group of expatriate Americans. Told through the eyes and observations of these characters caught up in these seismic events, the story unfolds alongside a war that slowly drags a reluctant United States into its violent embrace. This vibrant narrative takes these dramatic p...

A ground-breaking history of this global conflict including the errors and miscalculations made on both sides.Korea: War Without End examines the stand-off between East and West in Korea that defined the second half of the 20th century. It provides a critical analysis of the lack of preparation by the West for war; the results of the North Korean invasion in June 1950; the counter-stroke by MacArthur in September and then the strategic overreach which led ...

The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their...

Beginning on 10th April 1941, and lasting for 240 days, the siege of Tobruk is a mesmerising tale of human endurance and heroism. It is an epic story of extraordinary resilience as the Libyan port’s 24,000 defenders met increasingly desperate attempts by Rommel’s Panzer divisions to break through the hurriedly thrown-up defences. It was a battle of bayonets and grenades against tanks, of David versus Goliath.The eventual allied victory came against overwhelming odds, plus the moral...

A fascinating exploration of the dramatic battles and Allied operations to wrest back control of Burma (Myanmar) from the Japanese.The Allied reconquest of Burma was not part of Allied Grand Strategy in 1944 and 1945. It happened despite it – in particular, because of the dramatic failure of the Japanese invasion of India (Operation U-Go), which ended ignominiously for the Japanese Empire in August 1944. The reconquest was one of the longest campaigns of W...

'Elegantly written and beautifully produced' TLSHow 'Uncle Bill' won the war in BurmaDefeated and demoralised, British units in the Far East had virtually been ejected from Burma when, in 1943, General W. J. Slim organised, trained and then deployed his famous 'forgotten' 14th Army to devastating effect, defeating the Japanese twice and liberating Burma in the process. One of the most innovative soldiers of his generation, Slim's '...

The spectacular story of the prison break staged by an elite group of Allied pilots, who flew a daring low-level mission to blow holes in the walls of Amiens jail and free French Resistance prisoners.With D-Day looming, early 1944 was a time of massive intelligence activity across northern France, and many résistants were being captured and imprisoned by the Germans. Among the jails full of French agents was Amiens, where hundreds awaited likely execution for their...

Its funny how life has a way of changing people.It definitely changed me.I was tooling along day after day, set in my ways, looking at life like a racehorse wearing blinders, oblivious to seeing the world any other way than I knew how, because I ultimately had fashioned my vision of it. I fit myself with the glasses I wore, and I wrote the prescription for the lenses with my attitude, faith, and beliefs.But I got lucky. Parkinsons came along, slapped me upside the h...