In November 1921 the first purpose-built carrier was launched by the Japanese, followed a year later by the British launch of the Hermes. After WWI, battlecruisers were readily converted into aircraft carriers, with questions on how to handle the aircraft on the flight deck beginning to be raised and techniques of how to attack enemy ships beginning to develop. How Carriers Fought focuses on the HOW, not the what, when, or the by whom. It begins by examining the tools and the building blocks of carrier operations, looking at what life was really like in the cockpit for the pilots alongside the technicalities of navigation and communication. A world of tactical dehydration, amphetamine pills, and illegal smoking is explored, as well as the measures they put in place to reduce their risk of death on being hit.This book goes on to examine the major carrier battles of WWII, from the Battle of the Coral Sea to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, with a focus on how the tools of carrier operations were employed during these battles. At the Battle of the Midway the debate of concentration vs. dispersion became relevant, as the Japanese decided to divide their forces while the Americans concentrated theirs. How Carriers Fought questions these tactics, exploring which worked best in theory and in practice. How were searches made, how many planes were used, what was the range and coverage of the search, and how many hits were scored and losses suffered?The final section of the book looks at how carrier operations changed in major ways during the course of the war, as better technology and a better understanding of this new type of warfare allowed for quick advances in how operations were carried out. For example, the balance between fighter and bomber planes changed dramatically, with the US beginning the war with 20% fighters and ending it with 80% fighters. This book gives a comprehensive insight into carrier operations in WWII, with a focus on the Pacific War between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. A series of appendices expands on topics such as radar, landing on a carrier, radios and even carrier pigeons.

The leichter geländegängiger Lastkraftwagen “Einheitsdiesel” (Standard-Diesel Lorry) The development of the standard-lorry started in 1934. It was planned to develop vehicles with 2, 3 and 4 axles with payloads of 1.5, 2. 5 and 4 tons, but in the end, only the model with three axles and 2.5 tons payload entered serial production. Series production started in 1937 and ended in 1940 with more than 14,300 vehicles being built by nine different main vehicle producers. The “Einheits-Diesel” lorries were made identical by all nine manufacturers: Büssing-NAG, Daimler-Benz, FAUN, VOMAG, Henschel, Krupp, Magirus, MAN and Borgward.This profusely illustrated photo album includes many previously unseen pictures, many from private sources in Germany. Whatever the rules might have said, German soldiers took many photos.

Dr. Richard Sommers’ Challenges of Command in the Civil War distills six decades of studying the Civil War into two succinct, thought-provoking volumes. This first installment focuses on “Civil War Generals and Generalship. ” The subsequent volume will explore “Civil War Strategy, Operations, and Organization.” Each chapter is a free-standing essay that can be appreciated in its own right without reading the entire book.Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee stand out in Volume I as

Some Confederates called him a “Bluebelly,” “Mudsill,” and even a “Lincolnite” (for President Abraham Lincoln), but the name that has carried down through the decades is simply “Billy Yank.” Author Lance Herdegen tells his fascinating multi-faceted story in Union Soldiers in the American Civil War.Union Soldiers offers a complete guide for Civil War enthusiasts of all ages. Herdegen employs nearly 100 photographs coupled with clear and concise prose broken down into short, easy to understand chapters to better understand these men. Coverage includes such varied topics as the organization of the Union Army, learning to be soldiers, winter campaigning, photography, sick call, nurses, religion, discipline, prisoner of war camps, weaponry, uniforms, as well as numbers and losses and the strengths of the various Union armies. It also examines the participation of U.S. Color Troops and the role played by African Americans during the Civil War. This handy reference book includes a list of Civil War points of interest, some bookshelf suggestions, and a glossary of Civil War terms.Experienced Civil War buffs will find Union Soldiers in the American Civil War an invaluable quick reference guide, and one that makes an excellent gift for introducing the Civil War to anyone of any age.

Second place in the Military History Monthly Book of the Year Award 2018 Striking where the enemy is weakest and melting away into the darkness before he can react. Never confronting a stronger force directly, but willing to use audacity and surprise to confound and demoralize an opponent. Operations driven by good intelligence, area knowledge, mobility, speed, firepower, and detailed planning and executed by a few specialists with indigenous warriors - this is unconventional warfare. T. E. Lawrence was one of the earliest practitioners of modern unconventional warfare. His tactics and strategies were used by men like Mao and Giap in their wars of liberation. Both kept Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom close at hand. This book looks at the creation of the HEDGEHOG force, the formation of armoured car sections and other units, and focuses the Hejaz Operations Staff, the Allied officers and men who took Lawrence’s idea and prosecuted it against the Ottoman Turkish army assisting Field Marshal Allenby to achieve victory in 1918. Stejskal concludes with an examination of how HEDGEHOG has influenced special operations and unconventional warfare, including Field Marshal Wavell, the Long Range Desert Group, and David Stirling's SAS.

A few days before Christmas, on 21 December 1793, Jean- Antoine de Beauvalet, the Lord of Durécu, was found dead in a bedroom at Valognes where he had sought refuge after being locked up in the Fort de la Hougue by the Revolutionaries. Thus passed away the last male scion of the noble line of the Beauvalets, ennobled in 1702 by Louis XIV, and who in 1686 founded a the little domain at Durécu, which did not at the time bear that name. For three generations, the Beauvalets struggled using their wealth to hang on to this so dearly acquired nobility. The Lord of Durécu's grand-daughter, Caroline Avice de Sortosville, inherited the Durécu domain, and during the Terreur, married a young Republican officer, François Clément Boyer de Choisy, who came from a typically old noble family, since it had always been devoted to serving in the army. The Boyer de Choisys fortified the Saint-Marcouf Islands then improved their domain, but they also took an active part in public life, the first as Mayor of Saint-Vaast during the Empire and the Restoration, and the second, his nephew who inherited the domain, as Mayor during the Second Empire. Finally in 1918, Augustin Vallette, an entrepreneur from a very old Saint-Vaast family of merchants and chandlers, acquired this very beautiful property. After three years' research in the National, Civil and Military, Departmental (departments 50, 57, and 76), Municipal and Family archives, Edmond Thin here brings to life a true family saga spread over four centuries, based on the totally unpublished story of the Durécu domain; the story of three families, country gentlemen or simple citizens, not forgetting their spouses – women who were often remarkable and just as involved in the social fabric of their times.

The battle of Normandy ended as the Allied armies crossed the Seine at the end of August 1944, a month after Operation Cobra had broken the stalemate. The Allies harried the retreating Germans, who left their tanks and heavy weapons south of the Seine, and by mid-September the Allies were coming up against the defences of Germany itself, the impressive Westwall.As far as the Allies were concerned, the Germans were beaten. The scent of immediate victory was in the air, the only question was where to apply the coup de grace. Logistics demanded that this should be a single thrust rather than Eisenhower’s broad front approach. Montgomery—the architect of victory in Normandy—proposed a daring plan to circumvent the Westwall, thrust towards Berlin, and make use of the newly created 1st Allied Airborne Army. The plan was simple: use the Paratroopers to hold key bridges along a single route along which British XXX Corps would make an advance that would be “rapid and violent, and without regard to what is happening on the flanks.” US 101st Airborne would land north of Eindhoven; 82nd Airborne at Nijmegen; British 1st Airborne at Arnhem—the so-called “bridge too far.”Unfortunately, the plan was flawed, the execution imperfect, and the Germans far from beaten. In spite of the audacious actions of the Paratroopers who would cover themselves with glory, Operation Market Garden showed that the German ground forces would still provide the Allies with stiff opposition in the West.And then, in 1977, A Bridge Too Far came out. With levels of realism that wouldn’t be approached for twenty years, the movie produced a view of the battle that subverted reality and permeated public perception. Just as George C. Scott produced the definitive Patton, so A Bridge Too Far provided an unnuanced view of the battles that historians have battled to correct ever since.As with its companion volumes on D-Day, the Bocage, and the Ardennes battlefields, this book provides a balanced, up-to-date view of the operation making full use of modern research. With over 500 illustrations including many maps, aerial and then and now photography, it will provide the reader with an easy-to-read, up-to-date examination of each part of the operation, benefitting from on-the-ground research by Tom Timmermans, who lives in Eindhoven.

In 1885, a former president of the United States published one of the most influential books ever written about the Civil War. An entire generation of Americans had eagerly awaited his memoirs and it has remained so popular that it has never gone out of print. Historians then and now have made extensive use of Grant’s recollections, which have shaped how we understand and evaluate not only the Union army’s triumphs and failures, but many of the war’s key participants. The Memoirs of Ulysses Simpson Grant may be a superbly written book, Frank P. Varney persuasively argues in General Grant and the Rewriting of History, but is so riddled with flaws as to be unreliable.Juxtaposing primary source documents (some of them published here for the first time) against Grant’s own pen and other sources, Professor Varney sheds new light on what really happened on some of the Civil War’s most important battlefields. He does so by focusing much of his work on Grant’s treatment of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, a capable army commander whose reputation Grant (and others working with him) conspired to destroy. Grant’s memoirs contain not only misstatements but outright inventions to manipulate the historical record. But Grant’s injustices go much deeper. He submitted decidedly biased reports, falsified official documents, and even perjured himself before an army court of inquiry. There is also strong evidence that his often-discussed drinking problem affected the outcome of at least one battle.General Grant was an outstanding soldier and, so we have long believed, a good man. History’s wholesale acceptance of his version of events has distorted our assessment of Rosecrans and other officers, and even of the Civil War itself. Grant intentionally tried to control how future generations would remember the Civil War, and in large measure he succeeded. Now in paperback, General Grant and the Rewriting of History aptly demonstrates, however, that blindly accepting historical “truths” without vigorous challenge is a perilous path to understanding real history.

Following his book on the role of the 1st Marine Division in the battle of Iwo Jima, Charles Trang hs written an encyclopedic study of the Marines in the Pacific 1941-1945. Each camplaign is treated in detail individually accompamied by first-hand accounts and photos, many previously unpublished. Corregidor, Wake, Midway, Guadalcanal, Makin, Bougainville,Rabaul, Tarawa, Marshall Islands, Cape Gloucester, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, bloody, pitiless battles where the Marines forged their rerputation for tenacity, implacability and professionalism rarely equalled during the Second World War. This book looks at all the various units of the USMC, orders of battle, command stuctures and profiles of all the recipients of the Medal of Honor.

Using various veterans’ testimonies and memoirs, the reader plunges into the daily life of a unit, the SS-Panzer Regiment 3 “Totenkopf”, which only fought on the Eastern Front. It was one of the most capable. The Kriegestagbuch (log book) of this unit’s tank pointer is the main thread of this book, interspersed with never before published documents. Text in French.

The action of John Howard is without doubt on the most spectacular commando action of D-Day and WWII. Ten minutes after midnight on June 6th 1944, after an audacious glider landing, airborne troops of the 6th Airborne Division arrived at the bridge at Bénouville which became known as Pegasus Bridge and entered the annals of history. Six kilometres from there, towards the coast, at Melville was installed a German artillery battery which was in turn attacked by British paras a few hours later.

Experience the Civil War on a breathtaking three-dimensional journey! By viewing spectacular historical photos with 3D glasses,you will get the impression of being there―on the battlefield at Gettysburg, at a field hospital, aboard the famed ironclad USS Monitor, and in ruins of once proud cities. You will be able to go back in time―in 3D! Along with a preface by National Park Service chief historian Dr. Robert Sutton, and an informative timeline, the reader will be able to track the war‘s significant battles, events, and even come face to face with President Lincoln. Civil War photographers were alreadyable to capture stereo images in order to create the illusion of three-dimensional depth. A carefully chosen collection of these amazing 150-year old photographs, painstakingly restored and converted into 3D anaglyphs, helps the reader to visually experience one of America‘s most defining moments―the Civil War. This unique volume is a must-have addition to any military history library! 3D glasses included.

With the publication of Under the Crescent Moon with the XI Corps in the Civil War: Volume. 2: From Gettysburg to Victory, 1863-1865, James S. Pula completes his magisterial work on this important Union command. The XI Corps served in the Army of the Potomac for just twelve months (September 1862-August 1863), during which it played a pivotal role in the critical battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Thereafter, the corps hastened westward to reinforce a Union army in besieged Chattanooga, and marched through brutal December weather without adequate clothing, shoes, or provisions to help rescue a second Northern army under siege in Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite its sacrifices in the Eastern campaigns and successes in Tennessee, the reputation of the XI Corps is one of cowardice and failure.Under the Crescent Moon (a reference to the crescent badge assigned to the corps) is the first study of this misunderstood organization. The first volume, From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, 1862-1863, opens with the organization of the corps and a lively description of the men in the ranks, the officers who led them, the regiments forming it, and the German immigrants who comprised a sizable portion of the corps. Once this foundation is set, the narrative flows briskly through the winter of 1862-63 on the way to the first major campaign at Chancellorsville. Although the brunt of Stonewall Jackson’s flank attack fell upon the men of the XI Corps, the manner in which they fought and many other details of that misunderstood struggle are fully examined here for the first time, and at a depth no other study has attempted. Pula’s extraordinary research and penetrating analysis offers a fresh interpretation of the Chancellorsville defeat while challenging long-held myths about that fateful field.The second volume, From Gettysburg to Victory, offers seven chapters on the XI Corps at Gettysburg, followed by a rich exploration of the corps’ participation in the fighting around Chattanooga, the grueling journey into Eastern Tennessee in the dead of winter, and its role in the Knoxville Campaign. Once the corps’ two divisions are broken up in early 1864 to serve elsewhere, Pula follows their experiences through to the war’s successful conclusion.Under the Crescent Moon with the XI Corps in the Civil War draws extensively on primary sources and allows the participants to speak directly to readers. The result is a comprehensive personalized portrait of the men who fought in the “unlucky” XI Corps, from the difficulties it faced to the accomplishments it earned. As the author demonstrates time and again, the men of the XI Corps were good soldiers unworthy of the stigma that has haunted them to this day. This long overdue study will stand as the definitive history of the XI Corps.

After the initial successes of Operation Barbarossa, at the end of September 1941 Hitler turned his focus to Moscow, with the unshakeable belief that capturing the capital would knock the Soviets out of the war. On the face of it, it was an unequal struggle; Field Marshall Fedor von Bock had at his command disposal 1 million men, 1,700 tanks, 19,500 artillery guns and 950 combat aircraft – 50% of all the German men in Russia, 75% of all the tanks and 33% of all the planes. To defend Moscow, the Russians had under 500,000 men, fewer than 900 tanks and just over 300 combat planes. But the picture was in fact a great deal more complex; the Germans had suffered very significant losses since the invasion of Russia had begun, and had issues with logistics and air support. The Soviets, under the command of General Zhukov, were beginning to be better supplied with re-enforcements, and were prepared to defend to the death.Nevertheless Moscow was in a perilous situation. This volume in the Casemate Illustrated series concentrates on the main German assault of October 1941. Guderian’s panzer divisions at first made sweeping gains as they had done so many times before and large parts of the Red Army were encircled at Vyazma and Bryansk. These successes in fact allowed the Soviets time to re-group as the encircled armies did not surrender and had to be dealt with. Then three engagements followed at Mtsensk, Maloyaroslavets and the Mojaisk defense line that proved that the war in the East was not entering its final days as German high command believed.Illustrated with over 150 photographs, plus profile drawings of tanks, vehicles and aircraft, it gives a vivid impression of the situation for both protagonists, and a detailed analysis of the critical days as the fate of Moscow and perhaps the whole war hung in the balance.

For many, the Waffen-SS soldier represents the archetype of the combatant, if not the warrior: well-armed, well-trained, possessing intelligence in combat, imbued with political and ideological fanaticism, he is an elite soldier par excellence, even if a lack of scruples casts a long shadow. However, is this picture true? In the case of the Battle of Normandy, opinions diverged, not only among today's historians, but also amongst the German generals at the time. In all, the Waffen-SS fielded six divisions during the Battle of Normandy, as well as two heavy battalions of Tiger tanks. But they were by no means a single homogenous entity, for with the exception of II. SS-Panzerkorps, the divisions arrived at the front one after another and were immediately thrown into battle. This volume in the Casemate Illustrated series examines the Waffen-SS in Normandy during the fierce fighting of June 1944, when they struggled to hold back the Allied advance on Caen, though the picture was by no means one-sided. Extensively illustrated with photographs, tank profiles, maps, and accompanied by biographies of key personnel and explanatory text boxes, this volume gives a clear and accessible account of events, challenging some popular perceptions along the way.

To the northeast of Brittany, in the marches, three towns still have their old medieval aspect and reveal their exceptional heritage. These three medieval cities are presented together in a magnificent colour 80-page bound book. The reworked texts and the illustrations were published in the Magazine “Moyen Age” (Middles Ages) and are given here in a practical manner and, with this volume, will find their place in any Middles Ages history or architecture amateur’s library.