The bestselling author of And the Band Played On follows with a book of even greater power and sweep as he investigates the situation of gays in the military over the past three decades, revealing for the first time that some of the most celebrated soldiers in American history were homosexual (including the Father of the United States Army).

    Rifles, scopes, ballistics, target detection, stalking, hides, cammo, countersniping, special ops, police vs. military and much more.

    It presents us with an Eastern tradition of strategic thought that emphasizes outwitting one’s opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of force—an approach very different from that stressed in the West, where the advantages of brute strength have overshadowed more subtle methods.Safeguarded for centuries by the ruling elites of imperial China, even in modern times these writings have been known only to a handful of Western specialists. In this volume are seven separate essays, written between 500 b.c. and a.d. 700, that preserve the essential tenets of strategy distilled from the experience of the most brilliant warriors of ancient China.Only one of these seven essays, Sun Tzu’s famous Art of War, has been readily available in the West. Thanks to this faithful translation of the complete Seven Military Classics, the insights of these ancient Chinese texts are now accessible in their entirety.It’s not uncommon to see a “salaryman” on a crowded Tokyo subway studying one of the many popular Japanese editions of these essays. But why do so many businesspeople in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan study a 2,000-year-old military text? Because it embodies the strategic tradition of outwitting an opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of effort. These principles have been proven both on the battlefield and in the marketplace. Now they are available in the West for the first time in their entirety.The lessons found in this book were exploited by such pivotal Asian war leaders as Japan’s Yamamoto, China’s Mao Tse-tung, and Vietnam’s Giap to inflict terrible defeats on their enemies. And in more recent times, when Japan and others have decided to win their laurels on the field of international economic competition, these principles have been a key to the achievements of many Asian corporations. Executives in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan regularly study the Seven Military Classics. Unfortunately, even those far-sighted Western business leaders who have read Sun Tzu have glimpsed only a fraction of the knowledge their best Asian competitors use to plan corporate strategy—until now.Those who appreciate Chinese literature and philosophy will also discover much that is new in these pages. Here is a substantial but previously inaccessible body of thought that stands in contrast to Confucianism, which deprecated the military sphere in favor of self-cultivation and the ethical life.The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China remedies a serious gap in Western knowledge of Asian thought. This accurate translation is based on the best available classical Chinese manuscripts, some only recently discovered by archaeologists. It is a uniquely important contribution to the world’s military literature and is essential reading for anyone interested in China’s rich cultural heritage or in the timeless principles of successful strategy.

    Describes the struggle against entrenched ineffiency and corruption in the military, and recounts the author's own experiences trying to get equipment tested under conditions that resemble combat.

    Lee’s triumph over Union leader John Pope in the summer of 1862. . . . Lee’s strategic skills, and the capabilities of his principal subordinates James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson, brought the Confederates onto the field of Second Manassas at the right places and times against a Union army that knew how to fight, but not yet how to win."–Publishers Weekly

    Picking up the story after Midway, the author presents a scrupulously accurate account of what happened, describing in rich detail the actual planes and pilots pitted in the ferocious battles that helped turn the tide of war. Based on correspondence with 150 American and Japanese veterans, or their families, he reveals the thoughts, pressures, and fears of the airmen and their crews as he reconstructs the battles. These are the story of the Wildcat and Zero fighters, and the Dauntless, Avenger, Betty, Kate, and Val bombers. Lavishly illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, this fresh look at the campaign set a standard for aviation histories when first published in 1994.

    One of the first to come out of the famed Underwater Demolition Team 21, he was an initial member -- a "plank owner" -- of America's deadliest and most elite fighting force, the U.S. Navy SEALs.Through three tours in the jungle hell of Vietnam, he walked the point -- staying alert to trip wires, booby traps and punji pits, guiding his squad of amphibious fighters on missions of rescue, reconnaissance and demolition -- confronting a war's unique terrors head-on, unprotected . . . and unafraid.This is the story of a hero told from the heart and from the gut -- an authentic tour of duty with one of the most legendary commandoes of the Vietnam War.

     Their Sukhoi-24 bombers, capable of undertaking short-range lethal raids, have orders for a test target: three refugee camps, filled with women, children and the old. Millions of innocent lives are set to be destroyed in this flexing of the high command’s muscles, but at the first sign of aggression the entire region is set to erupt into total war… Spurred on by the intelligence reports yet unable to wage an overt pre-emptive attack, the White House is forced to turn to Andrew Wyatt. A “covert specialists” and former top gun pilot, Wyatt marshals his squad of unmarked F-4 Phantoms as a C.I.A. agent on the ground tries to learn more prior to their arrival. Wyatt must lead them through the deadly net of Libya’s air defences, risking everything as he endeavours to deliver a final blow in the name of international peace… Phantom Strike is a gripping, contemporary military thriller. Praise for Phantom Strike ‘Lovejoy writes in afterburner!… action that leaves you dry-lipped, moist-palmed and hungry for more. An excellent read.’ – M.E. Morris ‘Fast-paced aerial action… Phantom Strike is a supersonic rush toward a deadly target that rings with authenticity!” – Jimmie H. Butler, The Iskra Incident William H Lovejoy is the author of twenty-five thriller, suspense, and mystery novels, including Delta Blue and Delta Green. A Vietnam veteran, he resides in Colorado and is Vice Chancellor Emeritus from Mohave Community College. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7

    Without the convoys no supplies; without supplies certainly no Second Front. Captain Frederic Walker RN devised and employed tactics which were the only sure means of combating and ultimately defeating the U-boat Wolf packs, but it was only when the Lords of the Admiralty came to employ these tactics that the U-boats were finally defeated.No one did more to regain control of the North Atlantic than Captain Walker. His relentless battle with the U-boat Wolf packs, amounting almost to a personal duel with Admiral Donitz, is an epic saga which has long deserved a larger page in the story of our nation's history, though he did achieve the rare distinction of winning the DSO and three bars. Alan Burn, who served under Walker, brilliantly recaptures the feeling of those dramatic days - the sheer bloody hell of the Atlantic weather, the ever-present menace of the lurking U-boats, but above all the quite remarkable and indomitable spirit which Walker managed to inspire in all who served in the ships under his command. Not only the citizens of Liverpool, where Walker is still revered as a local hero, but all who hold freedom dear will appreciate this well-merited tribute to a largely unsung hero who did as much as any man to preserve that freedom.

    The insights are brilliant and intriguing as Deighton warns that the lessons of the War remain unheeded.

    They flew their "Flying Fortresses" almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the "Bloody Hundredth" a legend.Harry Crosby arrived with the very first crews. After dealing with his fear and acquiring skill and confidence, he was promoted to Group Navigator, surviving hairbreadth escapes and eluding death while leading thirty-seven missions, some of them involving two thousand aircrafts, he left with the very last. Now in a breathtaking and often humorous account, he takes his readers into the hearts and minds of the intrepid airmen to experience the heart-stopping emotions, the triumph and the white-knuckle terror of the war in the skies in a riveting, unforgettable book destined to become a classic.

    It is a chronicle of World War I, told from the viewpoint of the soldiers themselves through diaries, letters and interviews with survivors. The story of 1915 is stark, brutal, frank, sometimes painfully funny, and always human. Lyn Macdonald's other works include 1914-1918 Voices and Images of the Great War, 1914: The Days of Hope and They Called it Passchendaele.

    And with good reason. Offering an unprecedented range of descriptive and illustrative detail, the author describes the evolution of the battleship classes through all their modifications and refits. As well as dealing with design features, armour, machinery and power plants and weaponry, he also examines the performance of the ships in battle and analyses their successes and failures; and as well as covering all the RN s battleships and battlecruisers, he also looks in detail at the aircraft carrier conversions of the WWI battlecruisers Furious, Glorious and Courageous. British Battleships 1919-1939 is a masterpiece of research and the comprehensive text is accompanied by tabular detail and certainly the finest collection of photographs and line drawings ever offered in such a book. For this new edition the author has added some 75 new photographs, many of them having never appeared in print before, and the book has been completely redesigned to fully exploit the superb photo collection. A delight for the historian, enthusiast and ship modeller, it is a volume that is already regarded as an essential reference work for this most significant era in naval history and ship design.

    More than 60 Army and Marine Corps infantrymen speak of their experiences during their year-long tours of duty.

    Col. Dean Ladd, USMC (Ret.), a combat veteran of the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Written with award-winning author Steven Weingartner, Col. Ladd s book chronicles his experiences as a junior officer in some of the fiercest fighting of the war, during the amphibious invasions of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian. Ladd's recollections and descriptions of life--and death--on the far-flung battlefronts of the Pacific War are vividly rendered, and augmented by the personal recollections of many of the men who served with and under him in his wartime journey across the Pacific.Dean Ladd grew up in the Marine Corps; and the Marine Corps grew up in World War II. Faithful Warriors tells the story of how both came of age in history s greatest conflict. The book presents Ladd's journey through eventful times and extraordinary circumstances: prewar training outside San Diego; awaiting attack on Samoa after the attack on Pearl Harbor; surviving Guadalcanal; rest and recuperation in New Zealand; savage fighting and terrible suffering on Tarawa; recovery in Hawaii; more fighting on Saipan and Tinian This vividly written memoir will stir the memories of those who lived during these trying times and will help future generations of readers to understand the realities of the Pacific War.

    It is must reading for every aficionado of modern military history.” –San Francisco ChronicleErwin Rommel’s instinct for battle and leadership places him among the great commanders of history. In this definitive biography, David Fraser, an acclaimed biographer and distinguished soldier, looks at Rommel’s career and shows how wild and superficially undisciplined Rommel’s bold style of leadership could be, and how it inspired the men under his command to attack with ferocity and pursue with tenacity—qualities that served him well in his great battles in the North African desert and throughout his entire military career. Fraser also thoroughly explores the question of Rommel’s possible involvement in the plot against Hitler and the reason for his forced suicide, even though there was no criminal evidence against him.Revealing his failings as well as his genius, Knight’s Cross is a fascinating biography of a soldier whose distinguished career has become a part of history.

    Brings together interviews with more than eighty survivors to recount one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, the 1967 campaign in the mountains of Dak To, during which members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade found themselves caught up in a deadly struggle against overwhelming odds, often cut off from supplies, communications, and reinforcements.

    'Lady Luck' was the llth member of this crew until the day she deserted them. Bloody Skies captures the humor, tragedy, and ordinariness of life on a B-17 combat air crew flying out of Italy in the latter days of World War II.

    Three airborne divisions, plus the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade, were dropped behind German lines to hold the bridges of Holland for an armored assault that would simultaneously crash across the Dutch border. Instead of cracking the German defenses, however, the Allies were horribly bloodied in their attempt to take the “bridge too far” and Hitler achieved his last victory in the West. The story of the 1st British Airborne Division’s near annihilation at the hands of two SS Panzer divisions has passed into military legend. Less celebrated is the role of the Polish Parachute Brigade, which flew into the battle on the third day, onto German-held drop zones, to fight heroically in this most dramatic of Allied failures. A subject of controversy ever since the battle, the Poles were accused by the British high command of incompetence and obstructiveness at the time. Poles Apart, through years of thorough research and interviews with participants, describes in vivid, “on the spot” detail how the Poles in fact performed with great skill and dogged courage under the most difficult-of circumstances. Seldom have soldiers fought under conditions as poignant as did the Poles in MARKET GARDEN. Originally formed to support an uprising in its homeland against the Nazis, the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade was thrown into the inferno of Arnhem just as the Polish Home Army was rising against the Germans in Warsaw As the Poles fought and died in support of their Western Allies in Holland, the citizens of burning Warsaw looked skyward for their paratroopers to save them from the Germans, as the Russian Army sat across the Vistula awaiting their own turn at occupation. Unlike the gallant soldiers of other Allied armies, many Polish paratroopers would never see their homeland again, even after ultimate victory. Poles Apart describes the inception of the Polish airborne force, including the career of its dynamic leader, Sosabowski, through the debacles of 1939 in Poland and 1940 in France, to the incredible gamble that was MARKET GARDEN. Along with telling the story of airborne combat on a massive scale in one of this century’s most daring failures, Poles Apart corrects the historical record by establishing the Polish airborne force once and for all as a fighting force worthy of the respect of all nations.

    This is a complete revision of the original text and illustrations, which takes into account all the latest finds since the first publication of the book in 1993, as well as various constructive comments offered in published reviews.

    What was it like to face these odds day after day? We learn that men sustained by faith in each other and joined by the unique bonds of combat can overcome anxiety, fear, and even terror to achieve common goals.

    For a Cobra pilot--a Snake Driver--every launch meant he was going headlong into combat. As key providers of fire support, Snake Drivers always had missions, and every mission was real war--flying into hot LZs or kill zones that were literally walls of lead and high explosives. These are their tales of bravery and skill in the hellfire that was Vietnam.

    

    Was he a Southern sympathizer, who participated in the plot to kidnap Lincoln and exchange him for Confederate prisoners of war? Was he recruited from Mosby's Rangers? This work answers these and other questions with a research on his life.

    Army, helps liberate Buchenwald, trains youngsters for Israel's War of Independence, and drives the Mirrer Rosh Yeshivah and countless others daily to the sunrise minyan at the Kosel.

    This book tells the story of the Division in the words of the soldiers who fought with it: of its part in the three ferocious battles in Normandy - Epsom, Goodwood and Bluecoat, the great 'Swan' to Amiens, the taking of Antwerp, right flanking for Market Garden, back-up in the Ardennes and the final slog into Germany across well-defended river barriers, to the liberation of Belsen, Lubeck and the Danish frontier. The Division suffered 10,000 casualties, with almost 2,000 lost in action, and so this is also a story of courage and the hardships of a winter campaign, of being wounded, comradeship and fighting fear. Contributions are included from twelve of the regiments who proudly wore the sign of the Black Bull. Memories from troop commanders and riflemen, bombardiers and signalmen, tank crews, troop leaders and from the dashing GOC are brought together to reveal what life was like at the sharp end. Published in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings, The Black Bull is illustrated with over fifty black and white contemporary photographs showing the Division in action. It will appeal not only to those who still have memories of the battles and to those who fought in the Second World War, but also to readers interested in the day-to-day actions and thoughts of soldiers on the front line for almost a year.

    The trials and tribulations of the invading force are captured in eye-witness accounts from over 100 of the participants and make this an unforgettable saga of men moving towards disaster.

    the highest British award were awarded for one night of blood and fire in 1879 than ever before or since. That night has become immortalized in the mythology of the British Empire as 'Rorke's Drift'

    

    The book examines Byzantine attitudes to warfare, the effects of war on society and culture, and the relations between the soldiers, their leaders and society. The communications, logistics, resources and manpower capabilities of the Byzantine Empire are explored to set warfare in its geographical as well as historical context. In addition to the strategic and tactical evolution of the army, this book analyses the army in campaign and in battle, and its attitudes to violence in the context of the Byzantine Orthodox Church. The Byzantine Empire has an enduring fascination for all those who study it, and Warfare, State and Society is a colourful study of the central importance of warfare within it.

    The late-September British-French coup de force in Saigon cast a pall over such assumptions. Ho Chi Minh tried to negotiate a mutually advantageous relationship with France, but meanwhile told his lieutenants to plan for a war in which the nascent state might have to survive without allies. In this landmark study, David Marr evokes the uncertainty and contingency as well as coherence and momentum of fast-paced events. Mining recently accessible sources in Aix-en-Provence and Hanoi, Marr explains what became the largest, most intense mobilization of human resources ever seen in Vietnam.

    This volume reflects broad themes such as types of warfare or aspects of equipment, which cross many ship types.

    Volume I covers all variations of the "Panther" tanks, including all vehicles that used the Panther chassis. Volume II on the Sturmgeschutz assault guns, shows all short and long gun versions, as well as the various support vehicles of the Sturmartillerie. Upcoming volumes include: Volume III on the Panzer IV, and Volume IV and the Panzer III.

    infantry battalion to assault a fortified North Vietnamese Army force two hundred yards away with no artillery or air support. The defenders had every advantage....A harrowing firsthand account of one of the earliest and bloodiest engagements of the Tet Offensive, this revised edition of Charles A. Krohn's masterwork of warfare gone tragically wrong remains as vital and incisive as when it first appeared, its lessons more relevant than ever. Why an ill-equipped U.S. infantry battalion was ordered to attack an overpowering North Vietnamese force -- a military foul-up resulting in more than 65 percent casualties for the 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry -- is the bloodstained mystery Krohn lays bare even after the U.S. Army attempted to wipe the incident from official records. Captured here, too, are the supreme efforts of one bold commander to save the lives of his men and bring the doomed mission back from the brink of total disaster.

    Navy fighters was made into the movie Top Gun, presents an important military history, with all the excitement of a high-tech adventure, focusing on a heroic group of youngsters as they are molded into the highly-skilled pilots of one of the world's most sophisticated air forces. Photos.

    The law was on their side. But a creative military bean-counter found a cheap solution. Instead of sending the requested Reserve battalion, he sent one man and an outmoded Bolo.

    Clarendon held the offices of Lord High Chancellor of England and Chancellor of the University of Oxford; he began his great work after the Restoration of Charles II at the behest of the King himself. This classic work, long unavailable, has been reissued by Oxford University Press in a facsimile of the much-admired 1888 edition. The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England chronicles in absorbing detail the intrigues and upheavals, the alliances and confrontations, and the triumphs and the tragedies of the 1640s and 1650s. In elegant and vital prose it brings to life the personalities who shaped this era--and the principles for which a nation was divided.

    On the tactical level, The Second World War can still be read with profit." Fuller himself characterized the book, however, as "in part a least a psychological study of the folly of man." Expertly combining detailed military history and analysis with Clausewitzian insights based on his own theories of warfare, Fuller produced a modern military masterpiece in The Second World War.

    Book by Nye, Roger H.

    Alonzo Hereford Cushing offers valuable insights into the nature of the Civil War and the men who fought it. Brown's vivid descriptions of the heat and exhaustion of forced marches, of the fury of battle, have seldom been matched in Civil War literature.

    Photos.

    The action of every one of the regiment's tanks that landed at Dieppe is described in detail by Hugh G. Henry Jr who has spent several years on his research and interviewed all the regiment's survivors. Every Churchill tank and armoured car left behind on the beach is pictured, selected from photographic coverage of the time.

    Browning explores the often-changing war aims of the major belligerents-Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and Spain-and links diplomatic and military events to the political and social context from which they arose.

    Seventh Cavalry to a small hill overlooking the Little Bighorn River, where Custer and his men bravely erected their heroic last stand.So goes the myth of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, a myth perpetuated and reinforced for over 100 years. In truth, however, "Custer’s Last Stand" was neither the last of the fighting nor a stand.Using innovative and standard archaeological techniques, combined with historical documents and Indian eyewitness accounts, Richard Allan Fox, Jr. vividly replays this battle in astonishing detail. Through bullets, spent cartridges, and other material data, Fox identifies combat positions and tracks soldiers and Indians across the Battlefield. Guided by the history beneath our feet, and listening to the previously ignored Indian testimonies, Fox reveals scenes of panic and collapse and, ultimately, a story of the Custer battle quite different from the fatalistic versions of history. According to the author, the five companies of the Seventh Cavalry entered the fray in good order, following planned strategies and displaying tactical stability. It was the sudden disintegration of this cohesion that caused the troopers’ defeat. The end came quickly, unexpectedly, and largely amid terror and disarray. Archaeological evidences show that there was no determined fighting and little firearm resistance. The last soldiers to be killed had rushed from Custer Hill.

    At times he came very close to success and spent many months at large, supported by the goodwill and hospitality of the Greek peasants. Other attempts were doomed from the start and met with severe retaliation from his captors.Then, as the end of the war seemed in sight,came the bitter blow of being marched across Poland and Germany as the Russians advanced. Never one to say die, Peter winter brings his story to its own surprising conclusion.

    This bloody conflict is one of the most contentious and most studied in the history of World War I.

    In contrast, no fewer than a million Swiss troops served as mercenaries in the armies of Europe during the preceding 500 years. Swiss mercenaries form a significant strand in the rope of European military history, and this book draws on many French and German-language sources to describe how the Swiss emerged from the isolated valleys of the Alps with a new method of warfare. Their massed columns of pike-carrying infantry were the first foot-soldiers since Roman times who could hold their own against the cavalry. For a brief period at the end of the 15th century the Swiss army appeared unbeatable, and after Swiss independence had been ensured they were hired out as mercenaries throughout Europe. Kings and generals competed to hire these elite combat troops. Nearly half of the million served with the French, their centuries of loyal service culminating with the massacre of the Swiss Guards during the French Revolution. Marlborough, Frederick the Great and Napoleon all hired large numbers of Swiss troops, and three Swiss regiments served in the British Army.

    The Regiment began as a response to the German blitzkrieg in 1940, with the aim of supplementing the actions of the British Army and Airforce. The book details the first and most famous of the early raids - on Bruneval in 1942 - alongside the ill-fated assault on Holland in September 1944 that established the Parachute Regiment as an elite force. In the postwar period, they have gone on to prove their worth in action in Suez, Malaya, the Falkland Islands and Northern Ireland.

    Book by Drewry, Douglas L

    

    Army created parachute regimental combat teams. Drawing on daring volunteers willing to hurl themselves from airplanes and hit the ground fighting, the 517th PRCT became one of the most highly trained airborne units in the world. Blooded in northern Italy in 1944, the Battling Buzzards dropped at night in southern France for the second D-day to spearhead a savage advance through the Champagne region and then into the Alps.Gerald Astor, acclaimed author of A Blood-Dimmed Tide, draws on the words of the men of the 517th to create this gripping, action-packed account of a unit that existed for only two years but fought heroically to defeat the vaunted German forces. From its campaign in Italy to its assault in the French Alps, the Battling Buzzards helped push the Germans out of southern Europe one fierce, close-quarter battle at a time. Then, after six months of nonstop action, the exhausted, battle-hardened 517th was called into the ultimate battle — at a place called The Bulge....

    Most of these detentions took place in the summer of 1940, soon after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, when belief in the existence of a dangerous Fifth Column was widespread. Churchill, at first an enthusiast for vigorous use of the powers of executive detention, later came to lament the use of a power which was, in his words, `in the highest degree odious'.This book provides the first comprehensive study of Regulation 18B and its precursor in the First World War, Regulation 14B. Based on extensive use of primary sources, it describes the complex history of wartime executive detention: the purposes which it served, the administrative procedures and safeguards employed, the conflicts between the Home Office and the Security Service which surrounded its use, the part played by individuals, by Parliament, and by the courts in restraining abuse of executive power, and the effect of detention upon the lives of individuals concerned, very few of whom constituted any threat to national security. Much of what was done was kept secret at the time, and even today the authorities continue to refuse access to many of the papers which have escaped deliberate destruction. This study is the first to attempt to penetrate the veil of secrecy and tell the story of the gravest invasion of civil liberty which has occurred in Britain this century.

    

    The author explains how the tradition of loyalty to the regiment has served the British Army so well over the past 350 years and, in his vivid description of some of the major campaigns in which it has fought, shows what it was like at various times to have been an officer or a soldier in the British Army.