A brief, but insightful look at history shows the evolution of combat, the development of the physical and psychological leverage that enables humans to kill other humans, followed by an objective examination of domestic violence in America. The authors reveal the nature of the warrior, brave men and women who train their minds and bodies to go to that place from which others flee. After examining the incredible impact of a few true warriors in battle, On Combat presents new and exciting research as to how to train the mind to become inoculated to stress, fear and even pain.

    It's only five in the afternoon, but a sandtorm has plunged everything into a hellish twilight of murky, red dust. On rooftops, in alleyways lurk militiamen with machine guns, AK rifles and the odd rocket-propelled grenade. Artillery bombardment has shattered the town's sewers and rubble is piled up in lagoons of human excrement. It stinks. Welcome to Iraq... Within hours of 9/11, America's war on terrorism fell to those like the 23 Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first generation dispatched into open-ed combat since Vietnam. They were a new breed of American warrior unrecognizable to their forebears-soldiers raised on hip hop, Internet porn, Marilyn Manson, video games and The Real World, a band of born-again Christians, dopers, Buddhists, and New Agers who gleaned their precepts from kung fu movies and Oprah Winfrey. Cocky, brave, headstrong, wary, and mostly unprepared for the physical, emotional, and moral horrors ahead, the "First Suicide Battalion" would spearhead the blitzkrieg on Iraq, and fight against the hardest resistance Saddam had to offer. Generation Kill is the funny, frightening, and profane firsthand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the randomness, brutality, and camaraderie of a new American war.

    Yet a series of mistakes and setbacks, including the Battle of the Bulge, drastically altered this timetable and led to eight more months of brutal fighting. With Armageddon, the eminent military historian Max Hastings gives us memorable accounts of the great battles and captures their human impact on soldiers and civilians. He tells the story of both the Eastern and Western Fronts, raising provocative questions and offering vivid portraits of the great leaders. This rousing and revelatory chronicle brings to life the crucial final months of the twentieth century’s greatest global conflict.

    Exceptionally skilled Green Berets, they were the most highly decorated unit in the war. Always outnumbered—often by as much as 100 to 1—SOG commandos matched wits in the most dangerous environments with an unrelenting foe that hunted them with trackers and dogs. Ten entire teams disappeared and another fourteen were annihilated. In Secret Commandos, John Plaster tells of his own remarkable covert activities in SOG from 1969 to 1971, as well as those of dozens of his comrades, vividly describing these unique warriors who gave everything fighting for their country—and for each other. Play the video game inspired by the book: http://www.boldgames.com/sog.html

    A surprise Arab attack on two fronts on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, with Israel’s reserves un-mobilized, triggered apocalyptic visions in Israel, euphoria in the Arab world, and fraught debates on both sides. Rabinovich, who covered the war for The Jerusalem Post, draws on extensive interviews and primary source material to shape his enthralling narrative. We learn of two Egyptian nationals, working separately for the Mossad, who supplied Israel with key information that helped change the course of the war; of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s proposal for a nuclear “demonstration” to warn off the Arabs; and of Chief of Staff David Elazar’s conclusion on the fifth day of battle that Israel could not win. Newly available transcripts enable us to follow the decision-making process in real time from the prime minister’s office to commanders studying maps in the field. After almost overrunning the Golan Heights, the Syrian attack is broken in desperate battles. And as Israel regains its psychological balance, General Ariel Sharon leads a nighttime counterattack across the Suez Canal through a narrow hole in the Egyptian line -- the turning point of the war.

    ‘Steel Boat, Iron Hearts’ is his no-holds-barred account of service aboard a combat U-boat. It is the only full-length memoir of its kind, and Goebeler was aboard for every one of U-505’s war patrols.

    Marines." Hiding in buildings and mosques, wearing civilian clothes, and spread out for over a mile, Saddam Hussein's militants rained down bullets and rocket propelled grenades on the 1st Battalion. But when the smoke of the eight-hour battle cleared, only one Marine had lost his life. Some said the 1st Battalion was incredibly lucky. But in the hearts and minds of the Marines who were there, there was no question. God had brought them miraculously through that battle.As the 1st Battalion's chaplain, Lieutenant Carey Cash had the unique privilege of seeing firsthand, from the beginning of the war to the end, how God miraculously delivered, and even transformed, the lives of the men of the 1st Battalion. Their regiment, the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the Marines, was the first ground force to cross the border into Iraq, the first to see one of their own killed in battle, and they were the unit to fight what most believe to have been the decisive battle of the war-April 10th in downtown Baghdad. Through it all, Carey Cash says, the presence of God was undeniable. Cash even had the privilege of baptizing fifty-seven new Christians-Marines and Sailors-during the war in Iraq. The men of the 1st Battalion came to discover what King David had discovered long ago--that God's presence could be richly experienced even in the presence of enemies. Here is the amazing story of their experience.

    With the world hovering on the brink of war, a handful of U.S. Navy warships must track down and destroy a wolfpack of state-of-the-art submarines.Their enemy is skilled in deception, and incredibly lethal. Out-gunned, out-maneuvered, and out-thought, the U.S. Navy crews must throw the rulebook out the window, and become every bit as devious and deadly as their enemy. If they fail, the consequences are unthinkable... (Originally published as Torpedo)

    When French paratroopers landed in the jungle on the border between Vietnam and Laos, the Vietnamese quickly isolated the French force and confronted them at their jungle base in a small place called Dien Bien Phu. The hunters-the French army-had become the hunted, desperately defending their out-gunned base. The siege in the jungle wore on as defeat loomed for the French. Eventually the French were depleted, demoralized, and destroyed. As they withdrew, the country was ominously divided at U.S. insistence, creating the short-lived Republic of South Vietnam for which 55,000 Americans would die in the next twenty years.

    So when France sold Iraq a top-of-the-line nuclear reactor in 1975, the Israelis were justifiably concerned—especially when they discovered that Iraqi scientists had already formulated a secret program to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the reactor, a first critical step in creating an atomic bomb. The reactor formed the heart of a huge nuclear plant situated twelve miles from Baghdad, 1,100 kilometers from Tel Aviv. By 1981, the reactor was on the verge of becoming “hot,” and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew he would have to confront its deadly potential. He turned to Israeli Air Force commander General David Ivry to secretly plan a daring surgical strike on the reactor—a never-before-contemplated mission that would prove to be one of the most remarkable military operations of all time.Written with the full and exclusive cooperation of the Israeli Air Force high command, General Ivry (ret.), and all of the eight mission pilots (including Ilan Ramon, who become Israel’s first astronaut and perished tragically in the shuttle Columbia disaster), Raid on the Sun tells the extraordinary story of how Israel plotted the unthinkable: defying its U.S. and European allies to eliminate Iraq’s nuclear threat. In the tradition of Black Hawk Down, journalist Rodger Claire re-creates a gripping tale of personal sacrifice and survival, of young pilots who trained in the United States on the then-new, radically sophisticated F-16 fighter bombers, then faced a nearly insurmountable challenge: how to fly the 1,000-plus-kilometer mission to Baghdad and back on one tank of fuel. He recounts Israeli intelligence’s incredible “black ops” to sabotage construction on the French reactor and eliminate Iraqi nuclear scientists, and he gives the reader a pilot’s-eye view of the action on June 7, 1981, when the planes roared off a runway on the Sinai Peninsula for the first successful destruction of a nuclear reactor in history.

    After being mined on the battleship Nelson in 1939, he served on Prince of Wales, during the Bismarck action, witnessing the destruction of Hood and Churchill and Roosevelt's historic meeting. He survived the disastrous sinking by Japanese aircraft in December 1941 but within two days of reaching Singapore, the island fell. Evacuated in a coastal steamer, only to be sunk the next morning, he was stranded on a deserted island for a week before setting out for Ceylon in a native boat. His epic journey covered 1660 miles and took 37 days. Thereafter his adventures continued, with the North African landings, Russian convoys and, returning to the Far East, he was aboard the carrier Formidable when she was hit twice by Japanese Kamikazes before VJ Day.

    -- John Hillen, New York PostIn this unforgettable narrative of D-Day, Joseph Balkoski describes the minute-by-minute combat as it unfolded on Omaha Beach, allowing soldiers to speak for themselves as they recall their attempts to maneuver bombers through heavy cloud cover, the claustrophobic terror aboard transports, and the relentless fire that greeted them on the beach. Equal parts oral history and meticulous reconstruction, Omaha Beach is the closest the modern reader can get to experiencing the Normandy landings firsthand.

    Suddenly, the early morning silence was broken by the roar of a huge artillery bombardment and the dreadful sound of approaching tanks. Hitler had launched his bold and risky offensive against the Allies-his "last gamble"-and the small American platoon was facing the main thrust of the entire German assault. Vastly outnumbered, they repulsed three German assaults in a fierce day-long battle, killing over five hundred German soldiers and defending a strategically vital hill. Only when Bouck's men had run out of ammunition did they surrender to the enemy.As POWs, Bouck's platoon began an ordeal far worse than combat-survive in captivity under trigger-happy German guards, Allied bombing raids, and a daily ration of only thin soup. In German POW camps, hundreds of captured Americans were either killed or died of disease, and most lost all hope. But the men of Bouck's platoon survived-miraculously, all of them.Once again in vivid, dramatic prose, Alex Kershaw brings to life the story of some of America's little-known heroes-the story of America's most decorated small unit, an epic story of courage and survival in World War II, and one of the most inspiring stories in American history.

    What was supposed to be a quiet outpost, far from the blazing conflict between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the People's Republic of Haven has actually been targeted by an unholy alliance between the slaveholders of Manpower, the rival star kingdoms of Mesa and Monica, and the bureaucrats of the Solarian League. The alliance stands to benefit if the Havenites defeat Manticore, and are preparing for a surprise attack from the rear to divide Manticore's forces, which are already strained nearly to their limits. With their captain, the young Manticoran officers will risk their careers, if not their lives, on an unauthorized mission to expose and counter the threat to their Star Kingdom. Follow their journey as they show what they're made of as New York Times best-selling author David Weber begins a new series that will be a must for the hundreds of thousands of Honor Harrington fans.

    This is the story of these men – epitomised by the character of Sgt Tommy Atkins – and the women they left behind.Using previously unseen letters, diaries, memoirs and poetry from the years 1914-1918, Richard Holmes paints a moving picture of the generation that fought and died in the mud of Flanders. He follows men whose mental health was forever destroyed by shell shock, women who lost husbands and brothers in the same afternoon and those who wrote at lunchtime and died before tea.Groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed, this book tells the real story of trench warfare, the strength and fallibility of the human spirit, the individuals behind an epic event, and their legacy. It is an emotional and unforgettable masterpiece from one of our most important historians.

    As in the highly acclaimed "Forgotten Voices of the Great War", Max Arthur and his team of researchers will spend hundreds of hours digging deep into this unique archive, uncovering tapes, many of which have not been listened to since they were created in the early 1970s. The result will be the first complete aural history of the war. We hear at first from British, German and Commonwealth soldiers and civilians. Accounts of the impact of the U. S. involvement after Pearl Harbour and the major effects that had on the war in Europe and the Far East is chronicled in startling detail, including compelling interviews from U. S. and British troops who fought against the Japanese. Continuing through from D-Day, to the Rhine Crossing and the dropping of the Atom Bomb in August 1945, this book is a unique testimony to one of the world's most dreadful conflicts. One of the hallmarks of Max Arthur's work is the way he involves those left behind on the home front as well as those working in factories or essential services. Their voices will not be neglected.

    For twenty months, one American battalion after another tried to quell the violence, culminating in a bloody, full-scale assault. Victory came at a terrible price: 151 Americans and thousands of Iraqis were left dead.The epic battle for Fallujah revealed the startling connections between policy and combat that are a part of the new reality of war.The Marines had planned to slip into Fallujah “as soft as fog.” But after four American contractors were brutally murdered, President Bush ordered an attack on the city–against the advice of the Marines. The assault sparked a political firestorm, and the Marines were forced to withdraw amid controversy and confusion–only to be ordered a second time to take a city that had become an inferno of hate and the lair of the archterrorist al-Zarqawi.Based on months spent with the battalions in Fallujah and hundreds of interviews at every level–senior policymakers, negotiators, generals, and soldiers and Marines on the front lines– No True Glory is a testament to the bravery of the American soldier and a cautionary tale about the complex–and often costly–interconnected roles of policy, politics, and battle in the twenty-first century.From the Hardcover edition.

    

    Revealed are the very real and engaging experiences of Generals MacArthur and Blamey and other senior Australian commanders who sacrificed many of their senior field officers as scapegoats to protect their own positions, assisted in the making of false legends, and lied about the outcome of the men who fought the battles.

    . . [a] splendid examination.” —BooklistOn October 25, 1854, acting in defense of their base at Balaklava during the Crimean War, the Light Brigade of the British Cavalry Division made the most magnificent and brutal charge in military history. Seven hundred men armed with sabers and lances charged straight at the muzzles of Russian cannons. In the slaughter that followed, many fell to roundshot and shell. Those who survived took a terrible revenge on the enemy.In this vivid and extraordinarily detailed account of the charge and the bloody melee that followed, Terry Brighton draws on twenty years of research to tell the story in the words of the survivors themselves for the first time. Hell Riders takes the reader closer than ever before to the experience of charging into the valley of death, and reveals the horrific truth about the charge of the Light Brigade exactly as the survivors lived it.

    In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units—small in number, flexible, stealthy, and ef?cient—are more vital than ever to America’s security as they take the battle to an elusive enemy around the globe.But how are Navy SEALs made? Dick Couch, author of the acclaimed Warrior Elite, follows SEALs on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tactical Training, where they master combat skills such as precision shooting, demolitions, secure communications, parachuting, diving, and first aid. From there, the men enter operational platoons, where they subordinate their individual abilities to the mission of the group and train for special operations in specific geographic environments. Never before has a civilian writer been granted such close access to the training of America’s most elite military forces. The Finishing School is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what goes into the making of America’s best warriors.

    He survived a crucible far crueler than the jungles of Vietnam: Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, spending three years in the notorious Kovno concentration camp as a child. At age ten, with nothing but rags on his back, he was finally able to flee that hellhole. Most of those he left behind died.After returning to his home in Lithuania, now occupied by the Soviets, and finding it unbearable, Shachnow and his family decided to head west, often on foot, across Europe to the U.S. zone in Germany, where they found refuge. To earn a living in the grim aftermath of war, he smuggled black market contraband for American GIs. His next journey was to America, where he worked his way through school and enlisted in the U.S. Army, volunteering for U.S. Special Forces, where he served for thirty-two years. His primary goal was to save others from the indignities he had endured and the deadly fate he so narrowly escaped.From Vietnam to the Middle East to the Berlin Wall, Sydney Shachnow served in Special Operations. He grew as Special Forces grew, receiving both a master's and a doctoral degree. He traveled the world, rising to major general, responsible for American Special Forces everywhere, but the lessons of Kovno stayed with him wherever he turned, wherever he soldiered. Hope and Honor is a powerful and dramatic memoir that shows how the will to live---so painfully refined in the fires of that long-ago death camp---was forged, at last, into truth of soul and wisdom of the heart.

    This biography tells the story of Glenn (Mac) McDole, one of eleven young men who escaped and the last man out of Palawan Prison Camp 10A. Beginning on December 8, 1941, at the U.S. Navy Yard barracks at Cavite, the story of this young Iowa Marine continues through the fighting on Corregidor, the capture and imprisonment by the Japanese Imperial Army in May 1942, Mac's entry into the Palawan prison camp in the Philippines on August 12, 1942, the terrible conditions he and his comrades endured in the camps, and the terrible day when 139 young soldiers were slaughtered. The work details the escapes of the few survivors as they dug into refuse piles, hid in coral caves, and slogged through swamp and jungle to get to supportive Filipinos. It also contains an account and verdicts of the war crimes trials of the Japanese guards, follow-ups on the various places and people referred to in the text, with descriptions of their present situations, and a roster of the names and hometowns of the victims of the Palawan massacre.

    Here’s a chance to go right to the source. . . . These men were there.”–MARK BOWDEN (from the Foreword) It started as a mission to capture a Somali warlord. It turned into a disastrous urban firefight and death-defying rescue operation that shocked the world and rattled a great nation. Now the 1993 battle for Mogadishu, Somalia–the incident that was the basis of the book and film Black Hawk Down–is remembered by the men who fought and survived it. Six of the best in our military recall their brutal experiences and brave contributions in these never-before-published, firstperson accounts.“Operation Gothic Serpent,” by Matt Eversmann: As a “chalk” leader, Eversmann was part of the first group of Rangers to “fast rope” from the Black Hawk helicopters. It was his chalk that suffered the first casualty of the battle.“Sua Sponte: Of Their Own Accord,” by Raleigh Cash: Responsible for controlling and directing fire support for the platoon, Cash entered the raging battle in the ground convoy sent to rescue his besieged brothers in arms.“Through My Eyes,” by Mike Kurth: One of only two African Americans in the battle, Kurth confronted his buddies’ deaths, realizing that “the only people whom I had let get anywhere near me since I was a child were gone.”“What Was Left Behind,” by John Belman: He roped into the biggest firefight of the battle and considers some of the mistakes that were made, such as using Black Hawk helicopters to provide sniper cover.“Be Careful What You Wish For,” by Tim Wilkinson: He was one of the Air Force pararescuemen or PJs–the highly trained specialists for whom “That Others May Live” is no catchphrase but a credo–and sums up his incomprehensible courage as “just holding up my end of the deal on a bad day.”“On Friendship and Firefights,” by Dan Schilling: As a combat controller, he was one of the original planners for the deployment of SOF forces to Mogadishu in the spring of 1993. During the battle, he survived the initial assault and carnage of the vehicle convoys only to return to the city to rescue his two closest friends, becoming, literally, “Last Out.”With America’s withdrawal from Somalia an oft-cited incitement to Osama bin Laden, it is imperative to revisit this seminal military mission and learn its lessons from the men who were there and, amazingly, are still here.From the Hardcover edition.

    Though Raz's body was never recovered, he was declared KIA and soon forgotten. Years later, when Raz's now-remarried wife receives a call claiming Raz is alive, she asks Maxwell for help. At first Maxwell is ignored by the CIA--until his old enemy, Jamal Al-Fasr, is captured on the Iraq-Iran border and offers to trade himself for an American POW. Maxwell attends the exchange, hoping the POW will turn out to be Raz. But the CIA has its own agenda--and a shocking betrayal places Maxwell in the kill zone...

    Three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of 5 million people and in three days of bloody combat ended the Iraqi war. Thunder Run is the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad—one of the most decisive battles in American combat history—by the Spartan Brigade, the Second Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Mechanized). More than just a rendering of a single battle, Thunder Run candidly recounts how soldiers respond under fire and stress and how human frailties are magnified in a war zone. The product of over a hundred interviews with commanders and men from the Second Brigade, Thunder Run is a riveting firsthand account of how a single armored brigade was able to capture an Arab capital defended by one of the world's largest armies.

    Horace Greeley, founding editor of the New York Tribune, said “it is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people.” For these perilous times, for the men and women who serve the cause of freedom around the world, Holman Bible Publishers is pleased to provide the entire Bible in a format that is handsome, easy to carry, and that is designed to meet the specific needs of those who serve in the most difficult of situations.

    Near the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, as the mercury dropped to twenty below, the 1st Marine Division found itself surrounded and cut off by the enemy. The outlook seemed so bleak that many in Washington had privately written off the men. But surrender is not part of a Marine’s vocabulary. Gunner’s Glory contains true stories of these and other tough battles in the Pacific, in Korea, and in Vietnam, recounted by the machine gunners who fought them. Bloody, wounded, sometimes barely alive, they stayed with their guns, delivering a stream of firepower that often turned defeat into victory–and always made them the enemy’s first target.From the Paperback edition.

    These highly-trained, easily-deployable, and widely-skilled infantrymen specialize in airborne assault, raids, recovery of personnel and equipment, and airfield seizure, among other difficult and dangerous missions. Drawing from over two centuries of bloody lessons learned in special operations combat, this guide gives modern soldiers the best advice possible. In straightforward language and a no-frills style, it covers deception, stealth, communications, escape and evasion, ambush operations, perimeter defense, counterintelligence, and much more. Handy and concise, this manual was designed so Rangers could easily carry it into the field. Now it is the ultimate resource for anyone who wants to know how Rangers think and work.

    Rather than long lists of principles and ideas with explanations, this book teaches leadership concepts through captivating models, revealing the "hows" and "whys" of leaders making decisions during their most difficult hours. This approach of placing readers in the shoes of decision makers provides a realistic and gripping application of leadership principles. The book is designed to motivate a reader into becoming the kind of leader that will leave a stirring legacy-a Centurion Leader. New York Times bestselling author Colonel Jeff O'Leary (ret.) illuminates the defining moments of great leaders, including Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, and Abraham Lincoln.

     Strafed by American bombers, reeling from damage, and with supplies running low, a German U-boat limps along toward the coastal bayous of Louisiana-where the crew's only chance of survival rests in the hands of an isolated group of people who recognize no government and no war. There, in the heart of the enemy, Nazi gold can buy help. But gold can also buy betrayal...

    Three view artworks and annotations outline the powerplant, performance, weight, dimensions, and armament of every aircraft featured, with all measurements given in metric and imperial.

    600 color and archival photographs perfectly showcase the length and design of each entry. Presented here in mesmerizing detail, these artifacts from the world’s first major air battles will fascinate both WWII and military aircraft buffs alike.

    Navy's Chief Petty Officers and gouge to those who aspire to be CPOs. It is the result of an extensive review process by a select board of CPOs, including those assigned to the Senior Enlisted Academy in Newport, Rhode Island. The book provides extensive guidance in the four major skills areas deemed essential for today's successful CPO: leading, communicating, developing, and supporting. Among the sixteen useful chapters are The Moral Compass, Written Communications, and Advancement and Professional Development, and there is specific guidance in topics unique to being a chief, including the conduct of CPO initiations, living in the Chief's Mess, and wearing Khakis. Both textbook and reference work, the guide is mandatory reading for all E-6s and above.

    That artillery-scarred outpost was the linchpin of the so-called McNamara Line intended to deter incursions into South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army. As such, the fighting along this territory was particularly intense and bloody, and the body count rose daily.  Con Thien combines James P. Coan’s personal experiences with information taken from archives, interviews with battle participants, and official documents to construct a powerful story of the daily life and combat on the red clay bulls-eye known as "The Hill of Angels." As a tank platoon leader in Alpha Company, 3d Tank Battalion, 3d Marine Division, Coan was stationed at Con Thien for eight months during his 1967-68 service in Vietnam and witnessed much of the carnage.   Con Thien was heavily bombarded by enemy artillery with impunity because it was located in politically sensitive territory and the U.S. government would not permit direct armed response from Marine tanks. Coan, like many other soldiers, began to feel as though the government was as much the enemy as the NVA, yet he continued to fight for his country with all that he had. In his riveting memoir, Coan depicts the hardships of life in the DMZ and the ineffectiveness of much of the U.S. military effort in Vietnam.

    Here he provides a book-len

    As the title suggests, however, Naked in Da Nang is not an angst ridden account of mortal combat. That the humor is often dark only serves to sharpen its comic edge.

    BUD/S as it is known is a lengthy progression of physical and mental challenges that requires the utmost in dedication. This book captures that commitment and gives the reader a real insider look at what it takes to become a Navy SEAL

    Navy when he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1933, Draper Kauffman became a hero of underwater demolition in World War II and went on to a distinguished naval career. Today Admiral Kauffman is remembered as the nation's first frogman and the father of the Navy Seals. His spectacular wartime service disarming enemy bombs, establishing bomb disposal schools, and organizing and leading the Navy's first demolition units is the focus of this biography written by Kauffman's sister. Elizabeth Kauffman Bush, who also is the aunt of President George W. Bush, draws on family papers as well as Navy documents to tell Kauffman's story for the first time. Determined to defend the cause of freedom long before the U.S. ever entered the war, Kauffman was taken prisoner by the Germans as an ambulance driver in France, and after his release joined the Royal Navy to defuse delayed-action bombs during the London blitz. After Pearl Harbor his eyes were deemed adequate and he was given a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve. With his experience, he was asked to establish an underwater demolition school in Fort Pierce, Florida, where he personally trained men to defuse bombs and neutralize other submerged dangers. His men were sent to demolish the obstacles installed by the Nazis at Normandy, and Kauffman himself led underwater demolition teams in the Pacific at Saipan, Tinian, and Guam and later directed UDT operations at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His men remember him as an exceptional leader who led by example. He trained and fought alongside them, impervious to danger. Because of the high standards he set for those who became "frogmen,"thousands of American lives were saved in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Draper Kauffman's early established UDT traditions of perseverance, teamwork, and a lasting brotherhood of men of extraordinary courage is carried on by Navy Seals. This is his legacy to the U.S. Navy and his country.

    The data are drawn from open, primarily Russian sources. All the information is presented chronologically, arranged by individual systems and facilities, and is not available elsewhere in a single volume.Following an overview of the history of Soviet strategic forces, the book discusses the structure of the political and military leadership in the Soviet Union and Russia, the structure of the Russian military and military industry, nuclear planning procedures, and the structure of the command and control system. It describes the nuclear warhead production complex and the Soviet nuclear weapon development program. It then focuses on the individual services that constitute the so-called strategic triad -- land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, the strategic submarine fleet, and strategic aviation. It presents an overview of Soviet strategic defense, including air defense systems, the Moscow missile defense system, the radar and space-based early warning networks, and the space surveillance system. The book also includes a description of the Soviet nuclear testing program, including information on test sites and on all Soviet nuclear tests and peaceful nuclear explosions. It concludes with a look at the future of strategic nuclear weapons in Russia.

    

    The author has interviewed many ex-members, making for compelling first-hand accounts of daring raids, missions behind enemy lines, hostage rescues, and acts of incredible bravery. This history provides an inside look at modern selection and training and the combat engagements that have made the SAS such a unique and internationally respected special forces unit.

    This unique alphabet book also introduces readers to the semaphore, international code flag, and radio alphabets.

    From early jets such as the MiG-15 to the $2 billion B-2A Spirit, the wide range of aircraft employed by today’s air forces is thoroughly examined in text, graphics, and color and archival black-and-white photographs.

    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 'smart' style of soldiering was startling in its modernity - and with it he achieved something no one believed possible.An intelligent, compassionate commander, the unconventional Slim was also a heroic figure to the men he commanded - known affectionately to the ranks as 'Uncle Bill'. This biography tells the fascinating story of how he brought victory out of defeat; Lyman now gives him his rightful place, alongside Patton and Guderian, in the pantheon of eminent and unorthodox Second World War commanders.

    J. Slim achieved something no one believed possible. Appointed to lead what was soon to become the famous 'forgotten' 14th Army in 1943, at a time when British units in the Far East were defeated and demoralised, within six months he had dealt the first death blow to the Japanese Army. This - the battle of Kohima and Imphal - was the largest single defeat of the Japanese on land in the Second World War and led to their complete destruction in Burma by August 1945. So, how did he do it? And why is he not better known? Slim did not fit the British military mould. Like Patton he was a manoeuvrist: he fought differently, seeking victory by cunning and guile, starkly different from how the British Army fought its wars at the time. Like the legendary soldier T. E. Lawrence, Slim was an exponent - long before it became fashionable - of mission command, giving his subordinates their head and encouraging initiative and imagination at the lowest levels of command. But above all Slim was a soldier's general - it wasn't just his men who revered him, but his equals too: Mountbatten, with whom he bonded in a way unparalleled in South East Asia Command, and Stilwell, another maverick, who would serve under no other British commander but him. They were not wrong; he was a singular man, a supreme commander, who remains worthy of our respect.

    After the war, he went on to serve as governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin College. The first collection of his postwar letters, this book offers important insights for understanding Chamberlain's later years and his place in chronicling the war.The letters included here reveal Chamberlain's perspective on military events at Gettysburg, Five Forks, and Appomattox, and on the planning of ceremonies to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Gettysburg. As Jeremiah Goulka points out in his introduction, the letters also shed light on Chamberlain's views on politics, race relations, and education, and they expose some of the personal difficulties he faced late in life. On a broader scale, Chamberlain's correspondence contributes to a better understanding of the influence of Civil War veterans on American life and the impact of the war on veterans themselves. It also says much about state and national politics (including the politics of pensions), family roles and relationships, and ideas of masculinity in Victorian America.

    Some were old line professionals but most were wartime warriors still in their teens. The names of the principals have been changed and some of the details of the stories, having been partially obscured by time, are fictionalized. Today's Marines stand tall, and this volume will show how the seed of warfare, nurtured in a band of raggedy assed Marines, fighting across the white sands of hell in the Pacific, grew into a great oak. 400 pp, Photos

    "I was one of a handful whose Vietnam tour was evenly split between the First and Third Marine Divisions, and saw, firsthand, the difference 170 miles could make during the war's bloodiest year." Corporal Robert Peavey was a tank commander in I Corps (Eye Corps) on the DMZ when LBJ ordered a bombing halt over the North. His compelling first-hand account chronicles operations just south of the 'Z, operations that most Vietnam War histories have completely ignored. Peavey offers detailed, understandable explanations of combat strategy, strengths and shortcomings of standard-issue armament, and inter-service rivalries.

    Although the Wehrmacht ultimately succumbed to superior Allied firepower in a two-front war, its stunning operational achievement left a lasting impression on military commanders throughout the world, even if their own operations were rarely executed as effectively. Robert Citino analyzes military campaigns from the second half of the twentieth century to further demonstrate the difficulty of achieving decisive results at the operational level. Offering detailed operational analyses of actual campaigns, Citino describes how UN forces in Korea enjoyed technological and air superiority but found the enemy unbeatable; provides analyses of Israeli operational victories in successive wars until the Arab states finally grasped the realities of operational-level warfare in 1973; and tells how the Vietnam debacle continued to shape U.S. doctrine in surprising ways. Looking beyond major-power conflicts, he also reveals the lessons of India's blitzkrieg-like drive into Pakistan in 1971 and of the senseless bloodletting of the Iran-Iraq War. Citino especially considers the evolution of U.S. doctrine and assesses the success of Desert Storm in dismantling an entrenched defending force with virtually no friendly casualties. He also provides one of the first scholarly analyses of Operation Iraqi Freedom, showing that its plan was curiously divorced from the realities of military history, grounded instead on nebulous theories about expected enemy behavior. Throughout Citino points to the importance of mobility--especially mobilized armor--in modern operational warfare and assesses the respective roles of firepower, training, doctrine, and command and control mechanisms. Brimming with new insights, Citino's study shows why technical superiority is no guarantee of victory and why a thorough grounding in the history of past campaigns is essential to anyone who wishes to understand modern warfare. "Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm" provides that grounding as it addresses the future of operational-level warfare in the post-9/11 era.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Amongst the Marines is Steven's first-hand account of his years as an elite soldier, focusing directly on the excessive and often shocking lifestyle of the Marines during this time, and impact this had on his own personality and behaviour.Preece fulfilled his childhood ambition by earning the coveted Green Beret when he was 18. He was unaware, however, of the brutal rite of passage that awaited him and all the other 'pieces of skin' [new recruits]. Violence in the Marines, as Steven discovered, was not limited to the battlefield but a continual part of a pervasive culture of bullying and aggression.It did not take long for Preece to be accepted into this culture and to adopt it as his own. On duty he was fit, committed and loyal, while off duty he displayed a mammoth capacity for drinking, fighting and womanising. On home leave, Steven found it increasingly hard to adapt to civilian life. His drinking sessions in local pubs frequently ended in fights with the locals and even in violence against members of his own family. Preece earned a reputation amongst his fellow Marines for pranks and dangerous behaviour; and this eventually led him to be court-maritialled. To his relief and surprise, however, Preece was fully acquitted by the court.Amongst the Marines is an unflinching exposé of the culture of the Marines, from foul practical jokes and rough justice to the off-duty orgies of drink, sex and violence. It is a no-holds-barred account of the many shocking incidents Preece witnessed and participated in, from his first day as a new recruit to his exit from the Marines with his reputation intact and his scores settled once and for all.

    Navy's Blue Angels are the most famous flight demonstration team in the world. While millions of aviation enthusiasts see their shows every year, the story of the man who formed the squadron has never been told. He is Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, a World War II Ace and one of only two aviators ever to command the Blue Angels twice.First Blue details the epic journey of an unassuming man whose strong character and desire to fly launched him into a life of drama, heroism, and accomplishment unique in his field. Because he wanted to serve his country during World War II, a young Butch Voris found himself flying fighter planes as part of the pitifully prepared and outmanned front in the early stages of the Pacific theater. He was nearly killed there but went on to be a leader in one of the most fearsome naval air squadrons in the Pacific. As a pilot, Butch is unquestionably in the same class as more recognized aviator heroes such as Chuck Yeager and Pappy Boyington.While his World War II experience alone could comprise a book, Butch may be best known for his efforts in the creation of the naval air demonstration team, the Blue Angels. After the war, Voris was personally chosen by Admiral Nimitz to start the Blue Angels and to lead them, first in prop planes and later in jets. The story of his efforts is as exciting as it is inspirational, and it's told here in meticulous detail and with great humor. Today the Blue Angels still follow traditions established by Butch.Butch's involvement in military flight didn't end with the Blue Angels; he became a major player in the development of the F-14 Tomcat and NASA's Lunar Explorer Module for Grumman. Butch dedicated his life to his work, and here, finally, is the remarkable, untold account of this true American aviation pioneer and hero: a man whose life had unparalleled influence on naval aviation and whose legacy continues to inspire millions of Americans each year.

    POINTS OF INTEREST-" A Greater Freedom features an introduction by Oliver North describing the reason for sending American troops to Iraq to free its people from the terrible oppression of the Saddam regime.- The theme of "A Greater Freedom is the ultimate freedom purchased for us by Christ's blood.

    Ambrose's D-Day: June 6, 1944 relies on over 1,400 interviews with veterans, as well as prodigious research in military archives on both sides of the Atlantic. He provides a comprehensive history of the invasion that also eloquently testifies as to the ways that common soldiers performed extraordinary feats. He further combines history and journalism to describe how American GIs battled their way to the Rhineland in Citizen Soldiers, which contains memorable accounts of the Battle of the Bulge and other events as seen through the weary eyes of the men who fought in the foxholes. And in Band of Brothers, Ambrose tells the horrifying, hallucinatory saga of Easy Company, whose 147 members he calls the nonpareil combat paratroopers on earth, circa 1941-45. The Easy Company survivors describe the hell and confusion of any war, but despite the gratuitous horrors it relates, Band of Brothers illustrates what one of Ambrose's sources calls "the secret attractions of war ... the delight in comradeship, the delight in destruction ... war as spectacle."

    Divided into two books totaling 944 pages, DPM offers comprehensive coverage of this multifaceted and highly engaging subject. It contains more than 5,000 images by the world's leading nature, military and fashion photographers. It includes a comprehensive guide to the camouflage patterns issued to soldiers of 107 nations around the world and documents the rise of camouflage outside the armed forces - its use by anti-war protestors in the 1960s, further exploration by modern artists, and reinvention within areas such as fashion, architecture, music, film and sport. Depictions of camo-clad cultural icons such as David Beckham, Robert De Niro, U2, Notorious B.I.G., Ali G, Neneh Cherry and Joe Strummer illustrate the theme. Rescuing camouflage from its unhappy associations with war and conflict, this book emphasizes its natural beauty. It is the modern reference guide for both the novice and the seasoned camoufleur.

    They marked the establishment of Prussian hegemony in central Europe, the creation of the Bismarckian Reich in 1871, and, as a by-product, the reduction of Habsburg influence and the collapse of Napoleon III's Second Empire. Showalter gives a full account of the international context as well as of the wars themselves and their consequences.

    The Nation's Hangar charts the awe-inspiring history of flight around the world. F. Robert Van Der Linden, a Smithsonian curator and leading expert on aviation history, explains the fascinating stories behind aviation's great technological advances and provides historic and social context that highlights the many ways in which these innovations have changed the course of human history. The Nation's Hangar is also a visual delight. The Smithsonian aircraft collection has never looked so compelling and sleek. The Nation's Hangar is a must-have for that fly boy or fly girl in your flight pattern.

    Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Later, after receiving an ROTC commission in the Army Engineers and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Missouri School of Mines, Boyt joined the Allied forces in the Pacific Theater.While building runways and infrastructure in the Philippines in 1941, Boyt enjoyed the regal life of an American officer stationed in a tropical paradise--but not for long. When the United States surrendered the Philippines to Japan in April 1942, Boyt became a prisoner of war, suffering unthinkable deprivation and brutality at the hands of the ruthless Japanese guards.One of the last accounts to come from a Bataan survivor, Boyt’s story details the infamous Bataan Death March and his subsequent forty-two months in Japanese internment camps. In this fast-paced narrative, Boyt’s voice conveys the quiet courage of the generation of men who fought and won history’s greatest armed conflict.

    Seeking to break out of the Anzac position at Gallipoli they attempted to storm an extraordinarily strong Turkish position, defended by artillery, machineguns and thousands of men, using nothing but fixed bayonets and raw courage. The first wave of Light Horsemen were killed within seconds of leaving their trench, yet over the course of the next few minutes, three more lines went over the top, across the bodies of their dead and dying comrades, only to be instantly cut down themselves. All of them knew they were about to die. None held back. It was a massacre immortalised in Peter Weir's film, Gallipoli.Just before the order was given to send the third line, Trooper Harold Rush turned to his mate standing next to him and said Goodbye cobber. God bless you'. These words appear on his headstone, in the little cemetery near the scene of the charge. John Hamilton's book follows the men who fought and died in this action from the recruiting frenzy of August 1914, to their training camps, to Egypt, to the peninsula itself, to that fatal morning. It is a work of meticulous research and detail, which puts flesh on the bones of long dead men and boys. We see through their eyes the excitement, fear and horror of a generation encountering the carnage of modern war for the first time. 'Goodbye cobber, God bless you' is compelling, personal and painfully moving.

    independence. Through actual fighting, provision of supplies, and money, Spain helped the young British colonies succeed in becoming an independent nation. Soldiers were recruited from all over the Spanish empire, from Spain itself and from throughout Spanish America. Many died fighting British soldiers and their allies in Central America, the Caribbean, along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis and as far north as Michigan, along the Gulf Coast to Mobile and Pensacola, as well as in Europe.Based on primary research in the archives of Spain, this book is about United States history at its very inception, placing the war in its broadest international context. In short, the information in this book should provide a clearer understanding of the independence of the United States, correct a longstanding omission in its history, and enrich its patrimony. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the Revolutionary War and in Spain's role in the development of the Americas.

    More than 900 German aircraft took to the skies and attacked the vulnerable fields, destroying 200 Allied aircraft and damaging 150 more. In a pyrrhic victory, the Luftwaffe lost 271 fighters, with many more damaged, and 213 pilots--irreplaceable losses at this stage of the war.

    In this engaging memoir, Morton reconstructs his reluctant journey through basic training, advanced infantry training, and infantry Officer Candidate School during the Vietnam era. His is a unique record of what it was like to be a conscript in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s.Morton’s accounts also provide a roadmap to the sociology and culture of the military, especially the class system that divided college graduates from those with less education or economic stature yet sustained a solidarity that overrode class differences in the field. He describes his disappointment and discomfort at being “killed” during training ambushes. But he also shows how someone with a master’s degree in psychology could adapt to an environment in which the army did the thinking and the soldier the doing. However unintentional, by the end of his journey Morton is no longer a civilian but an officer, adept at army gamesmanship and ready for command.This book offers an entertaining and informative foray into the training system used by the army during the Vietnam era and valuable insight into military culture. Veterans of the Old Army will find their memories kindled by this vivid account of one man’s experience.

    40,000 first printing.

    Amazingly, considering the storms of controversy which surrounded the light rifle program in its early days, the M16 has gone on to become the longest-serving shoulder arm in US history, and the benchmark against which any new military rifle, American or otherwise, must now be compared. Even more astonishingly, the M16 today is at the center of a thriving, multi-million-dollar industry involving numerous companies and military agencies who are designing and manufacturing drop-in upper receivers in various configurations and calibers, plus complex rail systems and other high-tech accessories, all based on the M16 3platform2, which thereby grows more firmly established with each passing day. This book chronicles all the new third- and fourth-generation rifle and carbine models which have been introduced by Colt and Diemaco since The Black Rifle was originally published, and describes and depicts the myriad of enhanced sights and rails systems which help make the M16s of today the most versatile, modular and effective combat weapons in the world. It also includes a comprehensive survey of the Colt semi-automatic-only family of commercial and law enforcement products, in .222 Remington, 5.56mm (.223 Remington), 9mm and 7.62x39mm, and an in-depth Reference Compendium of all Colt military and civilian models and components

    Like Keeping Faith and Faith of Our Sons, Voices from the Front bridges the divide between those who are in, or who have family members in the military, and the rest of us who can take that service for granted. It is a book about the intimately emotional and human side of military service. While Faith of Our Sons reflected this war through the homefront struggles of a quietly courageous community of families, Voices From the Front takes us directly to the often invisible front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan: from first deployment to patrols to combat to field hospitals and, in some cases, homecoming. As Schaeffer has written of a group he has come to think of—politics apart—as the next greatest generation, "We need to know the men and women in combat better and to understand what they are going through." Powerful, moving and undeniable, Voices from the Front tells the story of this war in the voices of the Americans who are living—and dying—in it every day.

    Contents: Chronological Summary of Prncipal Events; Prelude to ?Neptune?-The Assault on Normandy 6th June-3rd July 1944-The Mediterranean Campaigns 1st June-31st December 1944-Coastal Warfare 4th July-31st December 1944-Home Waters and the Arctic 1st June

    This new volume again emphasizes the designs which were never flown. It covers aircraft projects that were prepared from the mid-1930s onwards influenced by the growing threat of another war with Germany, through to some projects which appeared after the war was over. The latter includes early jets such as the Attacker, Sea Hawk and Venom, which all flew post-war but were designed to wartime or immediate post-war requirements. Among the designs featured in this book are fixed-gun fighters, turret fighters, twin-engine cannon fighters, light, medium and heavy bombers, torpedo bombers and flying boats. As in the trilogy's first two volumes, these designs are covered with detailed descriptions and data and numerous photographs of models or artists' impressions showing how these designs would have looked. Unlike the post-war years, details of many earlier unbuilt projects have been lost, but fortunately information on a great number of these has survived, and this will form the most complete record to be published on these fascinating machines.

    Nightfall, 6 June 1944. D-Day is over and the Allies have carved a tenuous foothold in 'Fortress Europe'. The future of Europe hangs in the balance as Hitler's formidable SS Panzer troops threaten to drive them back into the sea. D-Day to Berlin is the remarkable story of the Allied struggle for survival - the battle from the beaches of Normandy to the heart of Hitler's Reich and ultimate victory just eleven months later. The campaign to free Europe from Nazi oppression through the collective operations from D-Day to Berlin mark one of the greatest ever military offensives.The Allies overcame initial setbacks to inflict a devastating defeat on Hitler's crack divisions in France - a victory that was threatened just months later in the bitter winter fighting of the Battle of the Bulge.

    World War II: A Day-by-Day History is a chronological history of the conflict from the start of the Polish campaign in September 1939 to the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. All of the major war theaters are covered, as is the fighting in the air and at sea. The dated entries, which are written as though they have just happened, analyze the major battles and campaigns of the war, such as Stalingrad, Kursk, Midway, D-Day, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Berlin. In addition, individual entries also discuss issues such as espionage, home fronts, politics, and technology.The day-by-day entries in World War II: A Day-by-Day History are accompanied by longer features on various aspects of the war, such as the war’s decisive weapons, strategic decisions, and policies. There are also biographical entries on the individuals who shaped and prosecuted the war in both Europe and the Pacific theaters, leaders such as Hitler, Chamberlain, Stalin, Zhukov, MacArthur, Patton, Manstein, and Eisenhower.  The authoritative text is complemented by over 900 photographs that convey the drama and tragedy of World War II. In addition, the maps give the reader a clearer understanding of all the war’s major and most intricate campaigns

    To achieve this goal, America poured millions of dollars into training and equipping the South Vietnamese military while attempting to pacify the countryside. Precisely how this strategy was implemented and why it failed so completely are the subjects of this eye-opening study.Drawing upon both archival research and his own military experiences in Vietnam, Willbanks focuses on military operations from 1969 through 1975. He begins by analyzing the events that led to a change in U.S. strategy in 1969 and the subsequent initiation of Vietnamization. He then critiques the implementation of that policy and the combat performance of the South Vietnamese army (ARVN), which finally collapsed in 1975.Willbanks contends that Vietnamization was a potentially viable plan that was begun years too late. Nevertheless some progress was made and the South Vietnamese, with the aid of U.S. advisers and American airpower, held off the North Vietnamese during their massive offensive in 1972. However, the Paris Peace Accords, which left NVA troops in the south, and the subsequent loss of U.S. military aid negated any gains produced through Vietnamization. These factors coupled with corruption throughout President Thieu's government and a glaring lack of senior military leadership within the South Vietnamese armed forces ultimately led to the demise of South Vietnam.A mere two years after the last American combat troops had departed, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, overwhelming a poorly trained, disastrously led, and corrupt South Vietnamese military. But those two years had provided Nixon with the "decent interval" he desperately needed to proclaim that "peace with honor" had been achieved. Willbanks digs beneath that illusion to reveal the real story of South Vietnam's fall.

    By age 21 Ken had already trained to be a pilot officer; flown 56 hair-raising bomber missions by night over Germany; taken part in the siege of Malta; got married; been shot down into a remote Norwegian lake; been captured and interrogated; sent to Stalag Luft III, survived the Great Escape and the forced March to Bremen. Truly a real-life adventure story, written with accuracy, pace and drama. In an age obsessed with C-list television celebrities battling it out on phoney reality survival shows, Rees and his dwindling band of Great Escapers stand out as the real thing. The Daily Telegraph Written in frank, warm and readable style, this is a very engaging account of a remarkable life. - New History A brave man s memory. Hear the fear yet take succour from the courage. North Wales Chronicle"

    The Parachute Regiment has already been in action - 2 Para securing a hard fought victory at Darwin-Goose Green at a heavy price in killed and wounded including their CO, Lieutenant Colonel 'H' Jones, later awarded a posthumous VC.Now, two weeks later, as they look up at the long, frost shattered spines of rock which stab the air from the summit of Mount Longdon on the outer ring of the Stanley defences, the 'toms' of 3 Para know it is their turn. As they prepare to assault their objectives - features code named 'wing forward', 'fly half' and 'full back'- the men of 3 Para know they are in for a fight. Just before 'zero' some of them are simply told to pray. This, the first in a new series on Special Operations, tells the story of 3 Para and the often-neglected struggle for Mount Longdon. It was a battle which tested the discipline, comradeship and professionalism of the paras to the limit; it was a battle which witnessed another posthumous VC; it turned out to be the bloodiest battle of the entire Falklands Campaign.

    This manual describes the organization, weapons, capabilities, and limitations of the Marine rifle squad. It addresses the squad's role within the platoon and that of the fire teams within the rifle squad. Emphasis is placed on offensive and defensive tactics and techniques, as well as the different types of patrols the squad will conduct.

    And we cried not merely tears of sorrow. We cried tears of hate.He was the soldier in the jeep with the big Star of David, driving from foxhole to foxhole, sometimes under fire, bringing faith and friendship to fighting men. David Max Eichhorn, a Jewish chaplain in the U.S. Army's XV Corps, saw action across France and into Germany until VE-Day and beyond. He was there at the Battle of the Bulge, participated in the liberation of Dachau, and became embroiled in the behind-the-scenes controversy that led to the execution of Private Eddie Slovik.Eichhorn's letters show us a devoutly religious man trying to cope with the perils of combat and the needs of his fellow soldiers. They are filled with amazing stories and poignant insights as Eichhorn tells about combat experiences, relations with Christian chaplains, encounters with Jewish refugees, and impressions of the defeated Germans. Once he was ordered to hold a Yom Kippur service in a beleaguered French town that was still under attack. It was a tough assignment, but after 350 battle-grimed Jewish soldiers showed up he wrote, I tell you unashamedly that, for the first time since I have been in France, I broke down and cried. Yet that experience paled before the liberation of Dachau, where he organized the first Shabbat service for the survivors, or the fall of Nuremberg, where he and a handful of Jews held a ceremony of thanksgiving at the site of Hitler's infamous rallies.Eichhorn also writes of French villagers hiding Jews, of the dangers faced by chaplains, and of the place of Jews in U.S. Army ranks. Throughout he vividly conveys the experience of war and how it altered forever a small-town rabbi--a man of faith and courage who never fired a gun in combat.

    There's also the Navy Way, the Marine Way, and the Air Force Way. This compendium of one-liners-from all branches of the military-proves that any resemblance between these ways and common sense is purely coincidental:

    The Victoria Cross can only be awarded for 'most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.' It has been awarded only 1,354 times since the Crimean War, the majority going to British and Commonwealth troops. Symbol of Courage vividly brings the story of the medal to life, giving a narrative history from the Crimean War to the recent war in Afghanistan. It includes many first-hand accounts of individual acts of bravery and describes what happened to the VC holders, some of whom found 'it was harder wearing the medal than winning it'. It also gives a complete listing of every VC holder with details of the action in which they won the medal. Written by acclaimed military historian Max Arthur, this is a fascinating and comprehensive study that will appeal to everyone who is interested in military history.

    Inderjeet Parmar presents new evidence to show how well-organized and well-connected elite think tanks helped to change the world.

    The very first ground actions linked to the D-Day in France were fought by the 'Red Berets', the famous British and Canadian paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division dropped over the Caen region, and also by the lesser-known French SAS who jumped over Brittany the same day to fight a guerilla war.This book offers every detail of these elite soldiers, uniforms, equipment, badges and emblems - all illustrated in full color

    intelligence was wrong, and why? Why did the Bush Administration ignore warnings by senior military commanders about the difficulties they would confront in trying to occupy Iraq? Why was there virtually no pre-war planning for administering Iraq once the war was successfully concluded? Pelletiere argues that, in going to war twice against Iraq and once against Afghanistan, the United States was seeking to put a lock on its future energy supplies. In neglecting diplomacy for so long in dealing with the Gulf States, Washington was practically compelled to use force to get what it wanted.Pelletiere explores the context of events that produced the attacks of September 11, 2001, the pretext for the United States' military move into the region. He debunks the Bush Administration's claim that the United States was beset by Islamic terrorists bent on destroying western civilization and set the stage for an examination of other possible motives. Next, he details the history of U.S. involvement in the region, beginning with the discovery of oil and the pioneering efforts of American and British companies to open the region to exploration. After the OPEC Revolution, he argues, the United States would allow itself to be drawn into an arms-supplying relationship with the Shah of Iran and the military-industrial complex would become hooked on subsidies from the Gulf monarchs. Finally, after discussing the First Gulf War and recent events in Afghanistan, Pelletiere contends that these conflicts and the current war in Iraq are really part of a greater struggle between North and South, a struggle that will have significant consequences for the future of the United States.

    - Landmark study of the Canadians' first major operation in Normandy - New revelations on the death of German panzer ace Michael Wittmann - Handsomely illustrated with maps, photos, and diagrams On August 8, 1944, the Canadian Army launched Operation Totalize, a massive armored and mechanized infantry attack that aimed to break through enemy defenses south of Caen and trap the German Army in Normandy by linking up with Patton's Third Army.

    Revised to reflect lessons learned from ongoing American involvement in Southwest Asia. Is an essential tool for the management of forward combat trauma. Takes a bulleted manual style in order to optimize its use as a rapid reference. Drafted by sub-specialty experts. Updated by surgeons returned from year-long deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. A collaborative effort with the Army Medical Department Center & School. Includes bibliographical references and index.

    But it is in the letters, diaries, speeches, song lyrics, newspaper articles, and government papers that history truly comes alive. Eminent historian Douglas Brinkley has carefully chosen the critical documents that bring to life the days of the war from the first Allied counteroffensive to V-J Day. His selections span the momentous, such as Eisenhower’s address to the troops in preparation for D-Day or Hirohito’s surrender on Japanese radio, to the intimate and the obscure. Readers will find one of Tokyo Rose’s broadcasts, letters from soldiers on the eve of battle, Ernie Pyle’s dispatches from Sicily, and Truman’s diary entries in which he wrestles with the decision to drop the A-bomb. Each primary document is accompanied by a relevant piece of New York Times reporting from the period and original text explaining the historical significance of the event in the war’s progress. News photos and other images add a strong visual component to this vivid re-creation of history.

    People of the frontier developed perseverance, toughness, and this book tells the epic story of this region and its many transitions throughout the centuries.

    This book is based upon a documentary co-produced by HBO and The New York Times and written and directed by Bill Couturi�e.

    Conflict in Afghanistan tackles this issue by examining the five wars Afghanistan has waged against foreign powers over the past two centuries, all of which have involved forms of asymmetric warfare.Incorporating contemporary documents and material from Soviet archives, the text analyzes each war's antecedents, conduct, and consequences. Important questions are asked about the role of religious beliefs, fanaticism, diplomacy, governmental decision-making and military competence, issues that have great contemporary relevance. The book provides an illuminating commentary of Afghanistan's wars and examines the relevance of these conflicts to the modern-day challenge of counter-insurgency and asymmetric warfare.

    As China, operating the world's largest army, grows stronger, there are ongoing debates over the implications for Asia's regional security. This book argues that it is imperative to look beyond the empirical observations and conventional materialist reading of Chinese military development to understand its dynamics and directions in doctrinal terms and put it in a readiness context for evaluation. Military doctrine has long been under-studied and is often treated as a subject separate from force development. But, as this study contends, this factor is necessary for interpreting the making and purposes of China's military power because it forms the intellectual foundation of military structural and hardware development. When loaded with political rhetoric, it also communicates to us the intended uses of the military power. The role of doctrine is reinforced in the context of military readiness, which defines what for and how the army is getting ready. Force development is evaluated in structural, operational and directional terms.The importance of this analytical framework based on military doctrine and readiness is demonstrated in a survey of the evolutionof Chinese military doctrine and force development. As the Chinese People's Liberation Army has continued to adjust its military structure and operation to follow the doctrinal lead, its switches between the doctines of local war and total war have seen corresponding changes to the emphasis between operational and structural readiness.

    By the end of 1941, an international network of schools was in operation in secluded locations ranging from the Scottish Highlands to Singapore and Canada. How to Be a Spy reproduces the extensive training manuals used to prepare agents for their highly dangerous missions behind enemy lines. The courses cover a variety of clandestine skills including disguise, surveillance, burglary, interrogation, close combat, and assassination - everything needed to wreak havoc in occupied Europe.Secret History Files is an exciting series from The National Archives that puts covert history in readers' hands. Dossiers previously classified as 'Top Secret' are now available, with an introduction and background analysis by expert historians.

    After seeing action in Syria with the Commandos, he joined the new unit that David Stirling was establishing, the Special Air Service. The raids Mayne led in the Western Desert destroyed over one hundred enemy aircraft on the ground. The common factor in these successes was Mayne's ability to read the situation, anticipate how the enemy would react, and then attack. Mayne was twenty-seven when he won the DSO for the first time. Mayne subsequently led the unit in Italy, France and Germany, winning a further bar to the DSO in each of these campaigns, as well as the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'Honneur. At the end of the war, after a short period with an Antarctic Survey, Mayne returned to the law. In 1955 he died in a car accident, aged forty. Soon after his death, misinformation about Mayne began to appear. He was portrayed variously as a classical tragic hero of drama, and a man of anger and aggression. Hamish Ross's work largely refutes these standard interpretations, using official war diaries, the early chronicle of 1 SAS, Mayne's papers and diaries, and a number of extended interviews with key contemporaries. It has the support of the Mayne family and the SAS Regimental Association. Hamish Ross strips away the legend and leaves Mayne not diminished but enhanced.

    Few who drove the original sixties' "Love Bug" knew that the vehicle was the creation of Adolf Hitler in the days of the Third Reich. Originally intended as a symbol of prewar prosperity, the Volkswagen, or "people's car," eventually became a key element in the Nazi war machine.With the outbreak of World War II, the production of the Volkswagen car was adapted for military use, and the Kubelwagen, German "jeep," was designed and manufactured throughout Germany. A special amphibious version, the "Schwimmwagen," was later developed and spearheaded many major German offensives. Appearing in several variants, Volkswagen vehicles became the mainstay of German command and motorized units.This detailed history of the Volkswagen in the 1930s and 1940s covers all varieties of makes and models of the Volkswagen in use during the Third Reich and is richly illustrated with rare photographs of the vehicles themselves, technical drawings, engine designs, and sales brochures of the period.

    From mint issue items, to rare sun-bleached tunics and caps, the wide variety of tropical uniforms used by the Army, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine and Waffen-SS are illustrated in superb large format photography, including up-close detail.

    It describes the evolution, use and eclipse of the battleship.’ Lloyds’ List ‘With crisp scholarship, Peter Padfield traces the development of the battleship from sailing ships much like Nelson’s which had been fitted with auxiliary steam engines and had iron armour hung on their sides, to the ultimate: the Japanese battleship, Yamato, a giant of more than 70,000 tons firing 18 inch shells more than 20 miles.’ Books and Bookmen ‘A fascinating documentary account of particular interest to the armchair strategist.’ Booklist ‘A worthy addition to anyone’s library that wishes to learn more of the rise and fall of the battleship.’ Good Book Guide The battleship reigned supreme at sea from the 1860s to the 1940s, the ultimate symbol of naval power and national pride, queen on the naval chessboard. This book describes its evolution from the wooden man-of-war plated with iron armour to the great steel leviathan of the Second World War, and its ultimate displacement as arbiter of naval power by the aircraft carrier. At the same time the author explains how strategy and battle tactics changed in response to the mounting of ever larger guns with greater range and penetrative power, and the development of threatening new weapon systems, particularly torpedoes, torpedo boats, mines and submarines; and he explores the chilling reality of action with vivid descriptions of major naval battles including the Yalu in the first Sino-Japanese War, Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War, Jutland in the First World War and many lesser known engagements. The pioneer naval architects and engineers and the commanders who fought these great ships in action, Togo, Jellicoe, Beatty, Scheer, Hipper, Cunningham, Lee, Oldendorf find their way naturally into this absorbing, often horrifying history of what was once the arbiter of naval power.

    Their ensuing journey, recounted in Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps, struck a fervent chord among the many Americans with a family member in the military, inspired personal communications from three American presidents, and propelled the book and the authors through many printings and onto Oprah, 20/20 and the New York Times extended bestseller's list. In Faith of Our Sons, Frank Schaeffer picks up his family's ongoing story as Corporal John Schaeffer is deployed to the Middle East on the day Gulf War II begins. Schaeffer's powerfully moving and timely account of the universal experience of losing a child—either temporarily or permanently—to war and his attendant emotions (from pride to panic to rage and back again) is punctuated throughout by the voices of the many others in Frank's situation, thousands of other parents and children, who continue to pour their hearts out to the Schaeffers in countless letters since the publication of Keeping Faith: from those waiting anxiously for loved ones to come home to those who know they never will.

    Although the 1st Tyneside Scottish battalion gained a battle honour for their victory against the might of two of Germany's elite SS Panzer Divisions, the engagement and its significance for the Normandy campaign as a whole have been largely forgotten. The enemy's last throw came on 1 July, a fierce attempt to penetrate the Allied line and force the British back to the coast. After more than 14 hours of fighting and resolute defence by British anti-tank guns and artillery, the 2nd and 9th Panzer Divisions were halted in their tracks. Here is a reconstruction of one day's battle in World War II, the background and build-up behind it and the men and battalion involved. The entire action of the bloody fighting is told through eyewitness accounts, full signal reports, and photographs to give a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the battle.

    

    Brian Campbell has selected and translated a wide range of pieces from the ancient military writers who tell us about the technical aspects of military practice and the management of armies.The pieces cover a fascinating range of topics - battle formations and manoeuvres, different types of troops, the art of generalship, methods for conducting and resisting a siege, the construction of artillery and fortifications, and every kind of ploy used by generals to defeat their opponents.Each piece is annotated with further explanation and context, making this an essential resource for everyone studying the army and warfare in the classical age.

    This encyclopedia is the most comprehensive reference work on the business of leadership, with up-to-date information across a broad range of issues affecting every aspect of the industry and the people it serves, employs, and influences.

    Classified documents and interviews point to covert Western, rather than Soviet activity. This is backed up by former US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who stated that Western "testing" operations were carried out regularly in Swedish waters. Royal Navy submarine captains have also admitted to top-secret operations.Ola Tunander's revelations make it clear that the United States and Britain ran a "secret war" in Swedish waters. The number of Swedes perceiving the Soviet Union as a direct threat increased from 5-10 per cent in 1980 to 45 per cent in 1983. This Anglo-American "secret war" was aimed at exerting political influence over Sweden. It was a risky enterprise, but perhaps the most successful covert operation of the entire Cold War.

    A companion to Vol. 5, UIP CI - 2002, 0-252-02404-4, (sold 1800 copies) Modeled on the famous four-volume 1888 compilation edited by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel, Peter Cozzens's Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: Volume 6 builds on the tradition of excellence established by his Volume 5 . The new book stands as another landmark addition to the fascinating body of retrospective testimony written by participants in the American Civil War. memoirs, and letters, Cozzens again exercises an unsurpassed mastery of the literature to bring readers the best first-person accounts of marches, encampments, skirmishes, and full-blown battles, as seen by participants on both sides of the conflict. General John Gibbon offers a harsh and convincing rebuttal to fellow corps commander Daniel E. Sickles's account of Gettysburg. General John C. Lee of the Union Eleventh Corps excoriates those responsible for the criminal blundering that wrecked the corps at Chancellorville, and seven prominent generals from both sides offer views on why the Confederacy failed. Alongside accounts by key personalities such as Philip H. Sheridan, George Armstrong Custer, William S. Rosecrans, and Jefferson Davis are the experiences of lower-ranking officers and enlisted men, who speak eloquently of battles, raids, sieges, heroism under fire, and the incompetence of superiors. primary sources, essential for historians, Civil War buffs, and anyone interested in military history. The selections are presented chronologically and provide an overview of the war's progress, all the while allowing the authors to speak for themselves. This volume includes 120 illustrations, including 16 previously uncollected maps of battlefields, troop movements, and fortifications.

    Its fearless army of Greek mercenaries marched through western Asia (modern Turkey and Iraq) in 401–399 B.C., their hopes and hardships recounted by Xenophon, the Athenian, an admiring pupil of Socrates. Xenophon’s history of the Long March, or Anabasis, is a classic of Greek literature.In this book, twelve leading scholars explore the Anabasis, a deceptively simple and profoundly rich source of social and cultural history and the mentality of the ancient Greek participants. The contributors explore a wide range of topics, from Xenophon’s values, motives, and manner as a writer to the outlook of his companions as mercenary soldiers, from his descriptions of religion in soldiers’ lives to their relations with women, boys, and the many foreign peoples encountered during the march.