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Fully illustrated, this book assesses the US Marines and Japanese troops fighting in three bloody battles of World War II in the Pacific. In June 1944, the United States military launched an offensive against the Japanese forces holding the Mariana Islands and Palau. The US Marine Corps played a vital role in this campaign alongside Army and Navy forces, while their Japanese opponents mounted a desperate defense of their conquests amid the harsh island terrain. This book assesses both sides' doctrine, tactics, weapons, and battlefield effectiveness in three battles of this stage of the Pacific War. Landing on Saipan on June 15, the Marines established a beachhead as the Japanese defenders strove to fight to the last man. On July 21, US Marine Corps and Army forces landed on Guam. Only on August 10 was Guam declared secure by the Americans, and even then resistance continued. US forces landed on Tinian on July 24 and wrested the island from its conquerors. Alongside Army troops, the US Marine Corps also targeted the island of Peleliu. Predicted to last four days, the US assault on Peleliu lasted more than two months as the defenders inflicted appalling US casualties. Featuring all-new artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this study assesses the tactics and technology employed by the Marines and their Japanese opponents in these bloody battles, as the Pacific War moved toward its grim climax.

This illustrated study assesses the British Crusader and the Italian M13/40, two medium tanks that played crucial roles in World War II's Desert War.

This illustrated study pits Germany's PzKpfw III against the Soviet Union's T-34 in the wake of Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. This book evaluates the PzKpfw III and T-34 medium tanks fielded by Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941. Both designs were intended to be the primary medium tanks of their respective armies, but owing to manufacturing difficulties, neither was available in quite the numbers intended. Even though both tanks were relatively new, neither was deemed entirely satisfactory, and replacements for both were already on the drawing board. Nevertheless, it was these tanks that clashed in what the Soviet Union called the Great Patriotic War.While the T-34 rapidly established a fearsome reputation only sometimes borne out by its actual performance, the PzKpfw lII was smaller, lighter, and not as well armed as its Soviet opponent but benefited from the support of a more seasoned and better structured army. Full-colour artwork, archive photographs and authoritative text drawing upon Russian- and German-language sources combine to reveal how the Germans harnessed the advantages of combat experience and superior organization to counter the T-34's tactical strengths, but also how the PzKpfw III quickly lost relevance as it became evident that it could not carry a gun powerful enough to destroy the T-34 at range.

An illustrated account of the little-known operations of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force's flying boat units during World War 2.

In 1960, SAC's B-52s began a nonstop, eight-year, nuclear-armed patrol. Fully illustrated, this study explains how one of the Cold War's most challenging operations was conceived and flown.

The Midway-class were the US Navy's biggest carriers built during World War II. Superbly illustrated, this explains how they became the backbone of the Cold War fleet.

An award-winning US Marine Corps armor historian's account of the role of US and Japanese tanks on Iwo Jima. The battle of Iwo Jima is iconic and known for its brutality: this was the only battle in which the number of US casualties outnumbered those of the Japanese. But as is often the case with the Pacific campaigns, the tank action on the island has generally been overshadowed by that of infantry. The tank, however, played an important role as a support weapon - especially on the US side - despite the rough terrain and unconventional enemy tactics. Using unpublished official records and veterans' accounts, award-winning USMC armor specialist Romain Cansière sheds new light on Japanese and USMC armored operations on the island. This book offers new information on the battle in a complete, concise, and accessible format, and its illustrations include unpublished photographs from private collections and meticulously researched new color profiles, highlighting the tanks' modifications and their diverse camouflage and markings.

A focused, illustrated history and analysis of perhaps the most complete air power victory in modern times, NATO's war against Serbian forces over Kosovo.On the night of March 24, 1999, NATO forces began military action to stop Serbia's campaign of repression during the Kosovo War. Initially planned to be a 72-hour operation, it took 78 days of sustained air warfare for Operation Allied Force to cause Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw his forces. Despite such setbacks as the loss of an F-117 stealth fighter and the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Allied Force ended with perhaps the most complete airpower victory of modern times. However, there is a dearth of written histories on NATO's air war over Kosovo. In this book Dr Brian D. Laslie, one of the leading scholars of modern air power operations, offers a complete history of the campaign, based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources. Although predominantly a USAF effort, the campaign also featured multinational contributions as well as significant naval aviation. Using spectacular original battlescenes, maps and 3D diagrams, Dr Laslie examines the aircraft, weapons and doctrine used, the Serbian air defenses, how the Allied forces planned and launched their air campaign, and how NATO had to rapidly adapt its initial plans to achieve success.

The first book to examine the battleship-led 1941 Pacific Fleet as it was intended to fight. Packed with illustrations, this study explains how the US Navy saw the approaching war unfolding.

A comprehensive. illustrated account of the wartime Italian battle fleet, from its ships and technology to command structure, logistics, codebreaking and more.In the 1920s, the Italian Navy faced great challenges. Mussolini's ambitious Italy turned away from its alliance with Britain and France, and the Regia Marina faced the prospect of confronting both the French Navy and the Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy. In the years leading up to World War II, the Regia Marina built and deployed a powerful battleship-led fleet - known in Italy as 'La Squadra' - intended to make the Mediterranean an Italian sea once more. In this book, Italian naval historian Enrico Cernuschi offers a fresh assessment of the wartime Italian battle fleet, based on his lifetime of primary-source research from both Italian and Allied sources. It offers a comprehensive portrait of this proud armada, how it was devised and built, and how it operated and fought. It covers a multitude of factors often overlooked, such as Italy's naval codebreakers, the fleet's logistics, and the qualities and limitations of Italian industry that supported it. The book also provides a concise account and analysis of the battle fleet's activities through the war, from major clashes such as the Battle of Calabria to lesser-known expeditions. The author's research into Italian wartime primary sources overturns some myths still commonplace in Anglo-American accounts. Illustrated with superb new artwork, maps and 3D diagrams, and featuring rare photos, this book is a fascinating account of Italy's great fleet of World War II.

An illustrated account of how the USAAF's might was challenged by the Jagdflieger and their heavily armed, and armoured, Fw 190A-8 Sturmjäger. Developed from one of the finest fighters of World War II, the radial-engined Fw 190A-8 was conceived as a heavy assault aircraft and armed accordingly. Its mission was to provide a response to the increasing numbers of USAAF B-17 and B-24 bombers operating against targets in the western and central Reich. This book explores the fascinating feats of the men flying the Fw 190A-8 and its subvariants. These pilots were given exceptional training and many were volunteers, some of whom were willing to sign oaths that they would bring down a bomber at all costs - even if it meant ramming the enemy aircraft. Using first-hand accounts, archival photos, full-colour illustrations, maps and tactical diagrams, acclaimed Luftwaffe expert Robert Forsyth puts readers in the cockpit of a Sturmjäger defending the Fatherland from USAAF bombers protected by powerful Allied escort fighters.

Updated and revised from the popular 2002 edition, with full-colour maps and new images throughout, this is a concise study of the American Revolutionary War. The American Revolution, or the American War of Independence, has been characterized politically as a united political uprising of the American colonies and militarily as a guerrilla campaign of colonists against the inflexible British military establishment. In this book, Daniel Marston argues that this belief, though widespread, is a misconception. He contends that the American Revolution, in reality, created deep political divisions in the population of the Thirteen Colonies, while militarily pitting veterans of the Seven Years' War against one another, in a conflict that combined guerrilla tactics and classic 18th-century campaign techniques on both sides. The peace treaty of 1783 that brought an end to the war marked the formal beginning of the United States of America as an independent political entity.With revisions from the author and 50 new images, this illustrated overview of the American Revolution provides an important reference resource for the academic or student reader as well as those with a general interest in the period.

Noted authority Steven J. Zaloga charts the development, combat use, and influence of man-portable air defense systems, from the late 1960s to the present day.The first attempts at developing a man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) based around a guided missile began in the mid-1950s, as a response to the increased speed and maneuverability of jet aircraft. This book charts the technological evolution of the MANPADS and explores their combat usage and the lessons from these encounters. Besides detailing the missiles, it also surveys the various methods developed as countermeasures to the MANPADS threat.The first generation of MANPADS, such as the US Army's Redeye and the Soviet Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail), saw combat use in the Vietnam War in 1972 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The next generation of infrared-guided MANPADS, such as the US Stinger and Soviet Igla, came to prominence following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Since the 1970s, MANPADS have been used in innumerable wars, border conflicts, civil wars and insurrections. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen photographs, this study tells the story of these lethally effective weapons, from their origins to their use today.