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The most comprehensive account of the defeat of the French Imperial Army in the last 100 years, making use of previously unpublished Orders of Battle and casualty reports.This work, the third in a four volume series, takes a fresh and in-depth look at the events of the opening months of the Franco-Prussian War between Napoleon's Imperial Army and King Wilhelm's German armies, when within the space of four weeks in the summer of 1870 the established order was overthrown and Prussia laid the foundations for a military and political hegemony in Europe which led directly or indirectly to two World Wars.In preparing this work the author has drawn heavily on the numerous volumes of the French official account, La Guerre de 1870-71 published by the Section historique de l'État-major de l'Armée around the turn of the 20th Century, which in addition to making use of information not available to the authors of the earlier German official history also includes detailed annexes providing copious orders of battle, after-action unit reports and casualty records for almost every engagement. This excellent source material has been supplemented by the works of Lehautcourt and the memoirs of many of the French commanders with additional detail and analysis derived from the numerous official and semi-official Staff studies published during the 1880-90's. While many of the German works have been published in English few, if any, of the French works have been translated and their inclusion within this work will hopefully provide both a fresh perspective of events as well as providing a useful counterpoint to the somewhat 'Prussian-centric' viewpoints reflected in many previous works.Following on from the previous books in the series, the Opening Engagements and The Battles around Metz, the third volume take a fresh and detailed look at both the military and political background to this short but decisive campaign which saw French and German forces clash at Nouart, the encounter battle at Beaumont and the pivotal engagement of the campaign, fought between Marshal MacMahon's Army of Châlons and the combined German armies under General Moltke outside the walls of Sedan.The detailed narrative is complemented by extensive orders of battle and casualty lists derived from the French and German official histories and is accompanied by a number of maps together with color and black and white illustrations.

The Battle of Megiddo was not only the last large cavalry offensive in world history, but also a tribute to combined arms operations fostered over the course of the First World War. Fought between 19-25 September 1918, it was the final Allied offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The contending forces were the British Empire's EEF (Egyptian Expeditionary Force) of three infantry and one mounted corps pitted against the Ottoman-German Yildirim Army Group which numbered three weak armies with the approximate total strength of a single enemy corps. Comparable to what General Erich von Ludendorff called the 'Black Day' of the German Army (opening of the Battle of Amiens, 8 August 1918) on the Western Front, the complete Ottoman defeat would have been impossible without the application of superior logistics. Whilst Megiddo did not determine the outcome of the war in the Middle East, the ramifications of the victory decisively shaped the post-war world in the region.

Explores the unique multi-ethnic British Indian armies under the East India Company.The armies of British India were, as one of its members wrote, 'the most extraordinary phenomenon in the history of the world.' Multi-ethnic, composed of men of diverse ethnicities and faiths, under the flag of the East India Company - 'John Company' -they conquered or controlled much of the Indian sub-continent by 1850, victorious in all but one major war (the first disastrous intervention in Afghanistan).Four armies served and fought for John Company: the three 'presidency armies' of Bengal, Madras and Bombay, and the regiments of the British Army, rented from the Crown by the Company. Together, this disparate collection of European and 'Native' corps - regular and irregular -numbered over 300,000 uniformed men at its height. The army that the 1857 Mutiny destroyed or changed out of recognition essentially dated from the reorganisation of 1824. In the intervening 33 years, John Company's armies not only fought half-a-dozen major wars (in Burma, Afghanistan, China, the Punjab, and across India itself), it also faced dozens of insurrections and rebellions, some of which entailed such sustained conflict that they gained their units battle honours. In doing so, the armies of British India created a distinctive military culture, one that the Mutiny decisively changed.John Company's Armies traces what those forces constituted and how they were commanded; how they lived and died in camps and cantonments; how they prepared for war (and how conflict in India changed) and how they fought against external foes and internal threats to the Company's rule. It uses a wealth of contemporary sources, archival, visual and published, including research on the sites of battles and cantonments, to evoke the armies' composition and character. It deals with both European and Native forces, explaining their idiosyncratic organisation, practices and terminology, and shows how British-Indian armies both prepared for battle and how they experienced it, drawing on the words and images of dozens of its members.John Company's Armies is intended for both the specialist seeking the first comprehensive account of a force traditionally examined to explain the outbreak of the 1857 Mutiny, and for readers such as family historians needing to understand how the army of a distant relative was formed, functioned, and how it fought.

"...a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs and illustrations, well detailed captions and more..." -- ArmoramaThe importance of land transport vehicles within an armed force is often underestimated by the average reader, attracted by more 'martial' subjects such as tanks and artillery. Nevertheless, it was thanks to motorcycles, cars, trucks and tractors that - since the early years of the twentieth century - men, weapons, ammunition, provisions, fuel, equipment and orders were transported, all elements without which AFVs, guns and infantry are unable to fight.This first volume opens with a historical and technical introduction to the civil and military motorization in Italy from the 1920s to the end of the Second World War. This is followed by chapters dedicated to motorcycles, cars and light trucks. Each subject is described through its history, technical evolution and specifications, all supported by numerous contemporary photographs.It is common opinion that the Italian Army was beaten above all because of the poor quality of its combat vehicles. Actually, impartial and in-depth studies, made since the end of the war, have revealed that the main problem was the shortage of vehicles, as well as an entirely insufficient logistics chain. The tank crews were able to compensate with bravery and experience for the fact that their tanks were, from a certain point on, inferior to those of their enemies, but the inadequate number of AFVs and other material was impossible to remedy. The same problem plagued the entire sector of military soft-skinned vehicles, a sign of Italy's limited industrial capacity (and of procurement of raw materials and components) compared, for example, to its ally Germany. There were too few factories, too few skilled workers, and poor management skills within the armed forces.However, if quantity was lacking, the same cannot be said for quality. Many models of efficient, robust and resistant vehicles were produced, especially in the sector of the so-called 'standardized' motor vehicles, such as those mentioned above and others that we will see. These vehicles allowed the Italian troops to move and fight in the large and difficult territories of North Africa, the Balkans and the Soviet Union and which brought home what was left of the defeated soldiers.This is the first English-language study describing the soft-skinned vehicles of the Italian Armed Forces, starting from the 1930s, when Mussolini's Italy faced some colonial conflicts and participated - albeit unofficially - in the Spanish Civil War, and throughout the Second World War. For each vehicle there is a file describing its evolution and the main technical aspects, accompanied by one or more photographs and, for the most significant examples, line drawings. The work is enriched by a historical introduction, various appendices and color profiles.

A detailed account of the III. SS-Panzer-Korps' retreat from Estonia, battles in Courland, Pomerania, and Berlin, featuring rare photos and veteran accounts.Heinrich Himmler regarded the III. (Germanic) SS-Panzer-Korps under SS-Obergruppenführe Felix Steiner as his favorite unit and general in the Waffen-SS. This SS-Panzer-Korps was supposed to ideologically unite SS volunteers from Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland into a Germanic brotherhood - intended to politically serve Himmler¿s plan of a Greater Germanic Empire and the colonization in the East. Battles against the Red Army in the Baltic states, Pomerania and Brandenburg-Berlin 1944 and 1945.Volume 2 deals with the retreat from Estonia in autumn 1944, the violent positional battles in Courland in 1944-45, the frantic fighting in Pomerania, but not last but not least, the desperate battles of defeat in Berlin in 1945.In addition to unique and unpublished photographs, the volume contains a wealth of unique eyewitness accounts from decades of interviews and correspondence with Waffen-SS veterans, detailed summaries of armored corps operations, short biographies of interesting personalities, facts about German and Soviet weapons and tanks, and lesser-known SS units, such as SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 "Hermann von Salza" and schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503. Distinguished WWII-researchers have contributed with essays on key aspects of the Waffen-SS.

An accessible account of medical services in Gallipoli and their development.The Fight for Life: The Medical Services in the Gallipoli Campaign 1915-16 examines the development of the medical services immediately prior to the First World War and its involvement in the failed Gallipoli Campaign. Although crucial to the entire operation, the planning for their involvement was both late and insufficient. In consequence, the services received considerable criticism both during and after the campaign. The Fight for Life explores the actual steps taken in the planning and the work carried out by the medical services at each stage of the campaign. Casualties sustained at the start of the Gallipoli operations were mainly combat-related but, as operations developed, there were a large number of sick caused by diseases such as dysentery and enteric fever. Much of this was related to poor sanitation, absence of water and the ever-present plague of flies. The causes of the diseases are examined and considered in light of the overall lack of success of the initial landings which prevented the routine development of sanitation, rest camps and base hospitals. The development of base hospitals is considered in respect to the increasing casualties arriving from the battlefield and the development of institutions in Egypt and later in Malta is considered in some detail. Early planning for such hospitals underestimated casualty figures and this was also a direct result of the lack of success during the first phase of the campaign. Further to this, the employment of hospital ships is explored together with the oft-criticized use of transports or 'Black Ships' for the same purpose. These vessels were a vital link in the treatment of the wounded and sick of the peninsula and in many cases they were forced to act as floating casualty clearing stations as their staff treated thousands, moving some to hospitals at both Lemnos and Imbros before sailing to base hospitals in Alexandria, Cairo or indeed Malta. The importance of nursing care aboard these ships is also considered, as nurses struggled to cope under adverse conditions.The harrowing winter 1915-16 storms are considered from the medical standpoint which added stress to a system working to cope with day-to-day casualties. The role played by the medical services in the evacuation of the peninsula is considered and the organization required for removal of casualties during the preparations cannot be overstated. Finally, a short analysis of the findings of the Dardanelles Commission as it applies to the medical services is provided.

Muskets & Springfields is designed for playing big battles in the American Civil War and is not model scale dependent and uses the player's current basing system. The game is set at the operational level. The player is the army commander with sub command groups. This will be typically a Corps. In these rules a Corp is made up of several infantry brigades, mounted cavalry, and artillery batteries. If you wish you can also include Native American Indian warbands.The basic unit in wargaming terms is the infantry brigade, which are grouped into Corps or Divisions. The game system uses grids as the unit of measurement. The game space is broken into several square grids which represent 300 yards in ground scale. Taking a balance of the various drill guides of the period this is approximately equal to 600 men in two ranks. For a typical 6x4 playing space it is recommended a ratio width x depth of 1.5 x 1. A typical 6x4 table provides the following 12 (3600 yds) by 8 (2400 yds) of battlefield.Morale is handled at the corps level and attrition is held at the individual unit base. These rules have three levels of morale. This is not the usual average, veteran, elite often used. Instead, the format is designed to reflect the actual state of mind on the day. These are Unknown, Nervous and Steady. In a game, unless representing specific historical units all bases start as Unknown. The actual morale state is not known till the unit takes damage. The player then rolls against a chart which provides a score for the unit being Nervous or Steady. This is dependent on the year being played and if Confederate or Union. When a unit fails a morale check this is recorded against their parent corps. Once a corps reaches its break point it will then flee the battlefield. Attrition is held at the unit level. This represents loss of cohesion, battlefield casualties or supplies running low. A unit can absorb 6 hits before it is automatically destroyed.To facilitate a clean flow of play these rules also facilitate the use of sharpshooters and skirmishers. Turns use a bag-pull system in which it is possible for the non-active player to able to interdict the play.​

The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of England was previously published as King Arthur's Wars: The Anglo-Saxon Conquest of England.How did Roman Britain become Anglo-Saxon England?The answer matters. This is written in English. Not Scots Gaelic, nor Latin. Before the Anglo-Saxon conquest there was no 'English'. Anglo-Saxons gave the world the English language (the language of Shakespeare, Keats, Byron and Shelley); parliaments; trial by jury; and cricket and warm beer. Every time you get into a passenger aircraft, anywhere in the world, the air traffic controllers will be speaking English. So it does matter. It's about how the English became the English and, to that extent, much about the modern world.We do not, however, really know the answer. There are very few historical sources from the period. There are also a few intriguing but garbled and confused oral sources, written down centuries later. The archaeology of the period is scant, confusing, and at times contradictory.The Anglo Saxon Conquest of England describes one of the biggest archaeological finds of our times; yet there is nothing new to see. There are secrets hidden in plain sight. Therefore this book brings an entirely new approach to the subject. The answers are out there, in the countryside, waiting to be found. Months of field work and map study allow us to understand how the Anglo-Saxons conquered England, county by county and decade by decade. The book exposes what the landscape and the place names tell us. As a result, we can now know far more about this critical period. What is so special about Essex? Why is Buckinghamshire an odd shape? Why is the legend of King Arthur so special to us? Why don't Cumbrian farmers use English numbers when they count sheep? Why don't we know where Camelot was? Why did the Romano-British stop eating oysters? The Anglo Saxon Conquest of England answers those questions, and many more.

Explore the fascinating history on the purpose, design, and progress of fortifications and siegecraft across Europe, from the height of military engineering to the introduction of rifled artillery.Christopher Duffy's brilliant history of fortifications and siegecraft is the best general work available on the subject. It covers the classic age of military engineering, which was heralded by the work of Vauban, chief engineer to the French King Louis XIV. There was astonishingly little change in the way fortresses were perceived and used for the next 200 years until the advent of rifled artillery brought dramatic new ideas into play. Duffy examines the purpose of fortresses across Europe and the debates of the time concerning their offensive and defensive uses. He analyses the strategic and structural considerations that dictated their locations and describes how they were planned, designed and built and by whom. He then explains how a siege progressed from start to finish: plans and preparations, the investment of the fortress, the ways in which a fortress could be reduced short of a formal siege, and the siege itself at every stage, from the choice of the frontal attack to the storm of the breaches and capitulation. The differences in siting, design and techniques of attack and defense for coastal fortifications are also covered. Using excerpts from the accounts of people who took part in actual sieges or were themselves besieged, Duffy brings out the human side of siege warfare as well as its purely technical aspects. In order to give the overall picture, he traces four great sieges in their entirety: Namur in 1692 and again in 1695, with Vauban and his Dutch counterpart Coehoorn pitting their wits against one another; the French attack on Antwerp in 1832, which showed how little siegecraft had changed since Namur; and the Anglo-Dutch naval bombardment of Algiers in 1816. Duffy's clear perspective and skillful handling of details make Fire and Stone an enthralling book to read and an invaluable source of information.

Hellish tales of brutal combat on the Eastern Front from commanders, soldiers and survivors as the Latvian 15th SS division tries to hold back the Red Army's 1945 Vistula-Oder operation in Pomerania. This is the first of two books charting their epic, chaotic retreat in a pitiless war.

This volume covers the history of the British XXX Corps in the French Bocage as seen by the men who fought there from both sides of the fighting lines. It features hundreds of first-hand accounts from the men at the sharp end.

This unique work is devoted to the camouflage and application of identification marks and tactical designations on the aircraft of the Red Army Air Force in 1941.

Contains many info and photos of American and Soviet and also German aces and pilots (American and Soviet victors and victims of the Hungarian aces and German aces, who flew joint missions and claimed jointly with the Hungarians, including Erich Hartmann, the top ace of the war and aviation history).

From Belfast to Bandit Country...The true story of a squadron pilot during the deadly Troubles in Northern Ireland and the application and determination required to fly the British Army Gazelle helicopter.

The island of Malta is renowned for its stoic defiance during the Second World War. Less well known is the significant contribution of its photographic reconnaissance aircraft to the war in the Mediterranean, particularly the surveillance of Sicily up to and beyond the Allied invasion.

German parachute troops had their moment of glory in the early years of WW2, but some units fought until the last day for the defense of the Oder River and the German capital. This book narrates the combats in which the 9.FALLSCHIRMJÄGER-DIVISION and the 600.SS-FALLSCHIRMJÄGER-BATAILLON took part.

Italy's best and most well known torpedo bomber in the Second World War. The tri-motored aircraft was used in the bomber, torpedo and transport role throughout the conflict. Includes technical data on the tri-motor aircraft and on the torpedo warhead.

This is the second of three volumes in the Airborne to Arnhem series. Altogether the three volumes contain over 150 personal accounts taken from personal interviews and correspondence with veterans of the 1st Airborne Division covering their reminiscences of the Battle of Arnhem, Operation MARKET, September 1944.

In this book we will learn the history of the 5 squadrons sent by Spain to fight alongside the Luftwaffe against the USSR. We will discover the aces, camouflage planes and emblems used by the Spanish unit. A large number of photographs and color profiles complete this exciting book.

Birdwood was a very notable general at Gallipoli, commanding the Anzacs, and leading the successful final evacuations. He led the Australians continuously on the Western Front, laying the groundwork for their celebrated achievements in 1918. He had great diplomatic acumen and his later years were both militarily and imperially significant.

Operations of Italian military forces in Italian East Africa from 1940 to 1942.

A new and detailed account of the battle of Gazala from 27 May-18 June 1942 which reconsiders the brigade battles for Eighth Army. It uses archival war diaries and reports, supported by numerous published memoirs, and regimental histories to provide a fresh voice for the men who fought there.

This narrative of the war in Ireland from October 1641 to September 1643 critically evaluates the performance of the Irish or Catholic armies and reveals the underlying shape of what would otherwise seem to be a shapeless sprawl of battles, sieges, skirmishes, massacres, and cattle raids.