In "Band of Brothers," Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze & died, a company that took 150% casualties & considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals & letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes.Foreword"We wanted those wings"; Camp Toccoa, 7-12/42"Stand up & hook up"; Benning, Mackall, Bragg, Shanks, 12/42-9/43"Duties of the latrine orderly"; Aldbourne, 9/43-3/44"Look out, Hitler! Here we come!"; Slapton Sands, Uppottery, 4/1-6/5/44"Follow me"; Normandy, 6/6/44"Move out!"; Carentan, 6/7-7/12/44Healing wounds & scrubbed missions; Aldbourne, 7/13-9/16/44"Hell's highway"; Holland, 9/17-10/1/44Island; Holland, 10/2-11/25/44Resting, recovering & refitting: Mourmelon-le-Grand, 11/26-12/18/44"They got us surrounded-the poor bastards"; Bastogne, 12/19-31/44Breaking point; Bastogne, 1/1-13/45 Attack; Noville, 1/14-17/45Patrol: Haguenau, 1/18-2/23/45"Best feeling in the world": Mourmelon, 2/25-4/2/45Getting to know the enemy: Germany, 4/2-30/45Drinking Hitler's champagne; Berchtesgaden, 5/1-8/45Soldier's dream life; Austria, 5/8-7/31/45Postwar careers; 1945-91Acknowledgments & SourcesIndex

    Reprint.

      Under the leadership of her fearless skipper, Captain Gene Fluckey, the Barb sank the greatest tonnage of any American sub in World War II. At the same time, the Barb did far more than merely sink ships-she changed forever the way submarines stalk and kill their prey.   This is a gripping adventure chock-full of "you-are-there" moments. Fluckey has drawn on logs, reports, letters, interviews, and a recently discovered illegal diary kept by one of his torpedomen. And in a fascinating twist, he uses archival documents from the Japanese Navy to give its version of events.   The unique story of the Barb begins with its men, who had the confidence to become unbeatable. Each team helped develop innovative ideas, new tactics, and new strategies. All strove for personal excellence, and success became contagious. Instead of lying in wait under the waves, the USS Barb pursued enemy ships on the surface, attacking in the swift and precise style of torpedo boats. She was the first sub to use rocket missiles and to creep up on enemy convoys at night, joining the flank escort line from astern, darting in and out as she sank ships up the column. Surface-cruising, diving only to escape, "Luckey Fluckey" relentlessly patrolled the Pacific, driving his boat and crew to their limits. There can be no greater contrast to modern warfare's long-distance, videogame style of battle than the exploits of the captain and crew of the USS Barb, where they sub, out of ammunition, actually rammed an enemy ship until it sank.  Thunder Below! is a first-rate, true-life, inspirational story of the courage and heroism of ordinary men under fire.

    The more I read, the more I wanted to see if I could measure up." —Mark Owen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of No Easy DayBecause it's a novel, the truth can be told. Because it's the truth, you'll never forget it...Gene Wentz's Men in Green Faces is the classic novel of Vietnam that inspired a generation of SEALs. Here is the story of a good soldier trained to be part of an elite team of warriors—and of the killing grounds where he was forever changed.WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORGene Michaels carries an M-60, eight hundred rounds, and a Bible. The ultimate SEAL, he also carries a murderous grudge against a bloodthirsty colonel who was once one of their own. To bring him in, Michaels and his men will go behind the lines, where they'll take on 5,000 NVA in the fight of their lives.In this stunning novel, former SEAL Gene Wentz brings to life what it was like to be a SEAL in Vietnam, running an endless tour of top-secret, death-defying operations deep in enemy territory. From the camaraderie to the harrowing recons, from brutal interrogations to incredible, toe-to-toe firefights, here are America's most feared warriors as you've never seen them before.

    Their capture in the desert, half a mile from their blazing Tornado bomber, began a nightmare seven-week ordeal of torture and interrogation which brought both men close to death. In Tornado Down, John Peters and John Nichol tell the incredible story of their part in the war against Saddam Hussien's regime. It is a brave and shocking and totally honest story: a story about war and its effects on the hearts and minds of men.

    The British response was swift, some said foolhardy. The mission of the Battle Group under the command of Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward presented a challenge that seemed all but insurmountable, and it was to require men of the highest calibre, professionalism and fortitude to carry it off. It also required exceptional leadership. On that day Admiral Woodward was on Fleet exercises in the Mediterranean; a tentative desire for action expressed in his diary was ironically fulfilled as he was thrown into an experience he could never have wished for, would never repeat, and certainly will not forget. From leaving Gibraltar to his return to Brize Norton, one hundred days elapsed--and, on the way, it had been a very close call. At times reflective and personal, at other times revealing the steely logic of a supreme military tactician, these engrossing memoirs take us south through the vast, lonely waters of the Atlantic as hopes for peace faded and strategies of war evolved, then became reality, victory and aftermath. They tell of the repulse of the Argentinian navy and the defeat of their air forces; of the sinking of the Belgrano; and of the daring amphibious landing at Carlos Water, eight thousand miles from home. One Hundred Days is unique as a dramatic portrayal of the world of modern naval warfare, where equipment is of astonishing sophistication but the margins for human courage and error are as wide as in the days of Nelson; and it is unique, too, in its revelations of the mind of the commander involved in planning one of this century's most audacious ripostes to an unwelcome invader.

    Here is an unforgettable account that follows Chambers and the Rangers every step of the way--from joining, going through Recondo, and finally leading his own team on white-knuckle missions through the jungle hell of Vietnam.From the Paperback edition.

    It ended with the surrender of 76,000 Filipinos and Americans, the single largest defeat in American military history. The defeat, though, was only the beginning, as Michael and Elizabeth M. Norman make dramatically clear in this powerfully original book. From then until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the prisoners of war suffered an ordeal of unparalleled cruelty and savagery: forty-one months of captivity, starvation rations, dehydration, hard labor, deadly disease, and torture--far from the machinations of General Douglas MacArthur. The Normans bring to the story remarkable feats of reportage and literary empathy. Their protagonist, Ben Steele, is a figure out of Hemingway: a young cowboy turned sketch artist from Montana who joined the army to see the world. Juxtaposed against Steele's story and the sobering tale of the Death March and its aftermath is the story of a number of Japanese soldiers. The result is an altogether new and original World War II book: it exposes the myths of military heroism as shallow and inadequate; it makes clear, with great literary and human power, that war causes suffering for people on all sides.

    A landmark text on the greatest land battle of the Pacific War.

    Here is the Vietnam War, in the air and on the ground: gritty, urgent, genuine, a story torn from the hearts and minds of those who served.

    An exciting trip back in time to the American Revolution, "a reminder of what history can be when written by a master."--Publishers Weekly

    Though he barely escaped expulsion from West Point, John Bell Hood quickly rose through the ranks of the Confederate army. With bold leadership in the battles of Gaines’ Mill and Antietam, Hood won favor with Confederate president Jefferson Davis. But his fortunes in war took a tragic turn when he assumed command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee.   After the fall of Atlanta, Hood marched his troops north in an attempt to draw Union army general William T. Sherman from his devastating “March to the Sea.” But the ploy proved ruinous for the South. While Sherman was undeterred from his scorched-earth campaign, Hood and his troops charged headlong into catastrophe.   In this compelling account, Wiley Sword illustrates the poor command decisions and reckless pride that made a disaster of the Army of Tennessee’s final campaign. From Spring Hill, where they squandered an early advantage, Hood and his troops launched an ill-fated attack on the neighboring town of Franklin. The disastrous battle came to be known as the “Gettysburg of the West.” But worse was to come as Hood pressed on to Nashville, where his battered troops suffered the worst defeat of the entire war.   Winner of the Fletcher Pratt Award for best work of nonfiction about the Civil War, The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah chronicles the destruction of the South’s second largest army. “Narrated with brisk attention to the nuances of strategy—and with measured solemnity over the waste of life in war,” it is a groundbreaking work of scholarship told with authority and compassion (Kirkus Reviews).

    This is a history of the largest and bloodiest campaign of the American Civil War - one in which a quarter of a million men fought, and one in four died.

    One can easily say that the definitive work on Joshua Chamberlain has now been done.--James Robertson, Richmond Times-Dispatch"An example of history as it should be written. The author combines exhaustive research with an engaging prose style to produce a compelling narrative which will interest scholars and Civil War buffs alike.--Journal of Military History"A solid biography. . . . It does full justice to an astonishing life.--Library Journal This remarkable biography traces the life and times of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg, earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War. Chosen to accept the formal Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Chamberlain endeared himself to succeeding generations with his unforgettable salutation of Robert E. Lee's vanquished army. After the war, he went on to serve four terms as governor of his home state of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin College. He wrote prolifically about the war, including The Passing of the Armies, a classic account of the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac.

    It is an outspoken account of inter-Service rivalries, and dangerous ignorance among many senior commanders.

    Samuel R. Johnson, U.S. Air Force, was shot down in April, 1966, while flying his twenty-fifth mission over North Vietnam. Shortly after his capture and imprisonment in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, Colonel Johnson was labeled a diehard by his enemies. His creative and innovative resistance of prison authority earned him banishment to the high-security prison unit where, unknown to U.S. military intelligence, Ho Chi Minh kept the eleven prisoners believed to be a serious threat to his war efforts. For two years Johnson and the other ten endured leg irons, malnutrition, and appallingly primitive conditions while imprisoned in tiny cubicles built in the earthen-walled facility dug out of the center courtyard of North Vietnam's Ministry of Defense in downtown Hanoi.Captive Warriors is the story of Alcatraz, where courage and humor thrived amid the madness. It is the story of Colonel Johnson's seven-year battle for his life, limbs, and sanity. It is the story of the hundreds of captured warriors--American POWs--whose lives lay in the hands of angry and vengeful North Vietnamese captors. The book also chronicles America's trek into political confusion and chaos throughout the course of the Vietnam War. More than a story, Captive Warriors is a tribute to all the American prisoners of war who, without benefit of the conventional weapons of war, waged daily battles against an insidious enemy disdainful of the requirements of the Geneva Conventions and who, in the end, became the final pawn in the peace settlement that ended the longest war in American history.

    The Singing Flame covers the period 1922-1924, and has been called a "work of great historical importance" -- Irish Independent.

    This study of the battle is based on research in archives from Connecticut to California and includes a pioneering study of the terrain of the sprawling battlefield, as well as an examination of soldiers' personal experiences, the use of Native American troops, and the role of Pea Ridge in regional folklore.

    A story of war above 20,000 feet is told by the leader of the first bombing crew to survive twenty-five daylight missions over the danger-filled skies of occupied France and Nazi Germany and return to the United States.

    Navy and gives the history, specifications, and tactical role of naval ships and aircraft.

    American Daughter Gone to War is the extraordinary story of how she was transformed from a romantic young nurse into a thoughtful, battle-scarred adult. It is a mirror for how our country dealt with the shattering experience and aftermath of the war.

    Powerful images and vivid narrative are combined in a unique catalog of Civil War artifacts, tactical maps and other battle accouterments.

    American soldiers explain in detail how they feel about their experiences in battle, what motivates them, what they think of themselves and their society, how they imagine wars will be fought in the future.

    This detailed account is based on interviews with the men who fought in the battle, and their commanders. It describes the horrors of a vicious, 14-hour infantry struggle.

    large oversized hardbound with dust cover

    Women Pilots of World War II presents a rare look at the personal experiences of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) by recording the adventures of one of eighteen classes of women to graduate from the Army Air Forces flight training school during World War II. This unique oral history verifies and shines a long-overdue spotlight on the flying accomplishments of these remarkable women.

    The Somme. The Italian Campaign. The Russian Front. And inside Hitler's bunker during The Battle of Berlin . . . World War II through the eyes of a solider of the Reich.Siegfried Knappe fought, was wounded, and survived battles in nearly every major Wehrmacht campaign. His astonishing career begins with Hitler's rise to power--and ends with a five-year term in a Russian prison camp, after the Allies rolled victoriously into the smoking rubble of Berlin. The enormous range of Knappe's fighting experiences provides an unrivaled combat history of World War II, and a great deal more besides.Based on Knappe's wartime diaries, filled with 16 pages of photos he smuggled into the West at war's end, Soldat delivers a rare opportunity for the reader to understand how a ruthless psychopath motivated an entire generation of ordinary Germans to carry out his monstrous schemes . . . and offers stunning insight into the life of a soldier in Hitler's army."Remarkable! World War II from inside the Wehrmacht."--Kirkus Reviews

    The city's position as the central point of the Cold War is examined, focusing on the partition, and eventual reunion, of East and West.

    These essays provide an authoritative introduction to Carl von Clausewitz and enlarge the history of war by joining it to the history of ideas and institutions and linking it with intellectual biography.

    Includes stories of the weapons themselves, as well as the people who designed them and the companies that manufacture them. Provides accurate, in-depth information for the collector. Illus.

    But hard as we tried--with yellow ribbons and We Support Our Troops bumper stickers and Norman Schwarzkopf videos and Olympics-style homecoming celebrations--we couldn't seem to erase the disturbing memory of Vietnam.Perhaps forgetting is not the answer. Perhaps the healing process begins with remembering. Painful, clear-headed remembering.Even those who remember best, the men who fought in Vietnam, aren't anxious to recall their experiences--or recount them to an academician. But in Otto Lehrack they found a sympathetic audience. Lehrack is both a historian and a member of the Third Battalion, Third Marines. He fought alongside the men whose voices he recorded here. Into their accounts, Lehrack has woven a narrative that explains the events they describe and places them into both a historical and a political context.It's a grunt's-eye view of the Vietnam War that emerges in No Shining Armor--the war as seen by the PFC's, sergeants, and platoon leaders in the rivers and jungles and trenches. It's the story of teenagers leading squads of men into the jungle on night missions, the story of boredom, confusion, and equipment shortages, of friends suddenly blown away, of disappointing homecomings. It's also the story of young men placed under unbearable strain and asked to do the impossible, who somehow stretched to meet the demands placed upon them, and the story of the friendships they forged in combat--friendships deeper than any these men would be able to form later in civilian life.

    Brushing stereotypes aside, the author takes a fresh look at what these strategic thinkers actually said--not what they are widely believed to have said. He finds that despite their apparent differences in terms of time, place, cultural background, and level of material/technological development, all had much more in common than previously supposed. In fact, the central conclusion of this book is that the logic of waging war and of strategic thinking is as universal and timeless as human nature itself.This third, revised and expanded edition includes five new chapters and some new charts and diagrams.

    Later, every advance in power, safety, and reliability was won by pilots who tested again and again the limits of the envelope. (Planes)

    Featuring photos and comprehensive coverage of both summer and winter uniforms, as well as equipment and insignia, this work is of interest to military history enthusiasts and collectors.

    

    8-page insert.

    These works reveal their meaning most clearly when we do not relegate them to the function of illustrating a text or see them merely as specimens of the applied arts, but take them seriously as unique combinations of historical witness and aesthetic object. Drawn from Russia, Central and Western Europe, and the United States, from the turn of the century to the aftermath of the Second World War, the posters form a bridge between the claims of ideology and the state on the one hand and the support or submission of millions of men and women on the other. How can men be persuaded to fight for their party or country, and how can women be convinced to enter the workforce in wartime and retreat to the home when their men return? How can women be brought to believe that losing their husbands and sons is a noble sacrifice? Where can money be found to pay for the costs of the war and of reconstruction? Are guilt, compassion, and fear sufficient to bind the homefront to the fighting men? What is the most effective way to dehumanize the enemy, whether foreign or domestic? These are some of the issues that the posters in this volume lay bare and begin to explain. Together text and image open fresh perspectives on half a century of war, revolution, and renewed war, and point toward a new kind of integrative history. Except for seven posters, the images in this book are from the archives of the Hoover Institution on War, Peace and Revolution at Stanford University. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Herbert Hoover began to collect documents, including posters, from the warring powers. He laid the foundation for one of the world's great poster collections, now consisting of some 75,000 posters as well as of nearly 40,000 proclamations and other purely typographical announcements.

    Book by McCoy, James W.

    Miles and his Fifth Infantry launched several significant campaigns to destroy the Lakota-Northern Cheyenne coalition in the Yellowstone River basin. Miles's expeditions involved relentless pursuit and attack throughout the winter months, culminating in the Lame Deer Fight of May 1877, the last major engagement of the Great Sioux War. Yellowstone Command is the first detailed account of the harrowing 1876-1877 campaigns. Drawing from Indian testimonies and many previously untapped sources, Jerome A. Greene reconstructs the ambitious battles of Colonel Miles and his foot soldiers. This paperback edition of Yellowstone Command features a new preface by the author.

    Eighth Air Force base operational in Britain in WWII. The author is a leading historian.

    He provides a good look at this lesser known aspect of (World War II).--"Retired Officer". 38 photos.

    This mission was the work of Royal Marine Commandos, who placed greater emphasis on boating and diving skills than Army Commandos who specialized in amphibious landings.Commando training involved mental ingenuity as well as physical toughness, with trainees occasionally turned loose in the English countryside to make their way back to camp as best they could, dodging British troops and police along the way. In December, 1942, the Commandos attempted to row up the Gironde River at night in canoes (Cockleshells to the Royal Marines) and attach explosives to German ships at dock in Bordeaux. Inflicting some damage, only William Sparks and a Marine officer, Blondie Hasler, managed to escape. The other commandos were missing, and are now thought to have been shot. Sparks and Hasler's ordeal had just begun, however, for there followed a lengthy chase across southern France before the two men eventually made their way to neutral Spain.

    is a richly enthralling portrait of an outstanding and versatile personality who is also the most decorated soldier in the British army. It will be of special interest to all concerned with the two world wars, while its broad frame of reference will delight readers who enjoy outstanding biographies.

    Part of a selection of titles that look at the uniforms and insignia of the SS, this book is a source for the complex organization and history of the SS Security Service, the Gestapo, the infamous Action Groups and local auxiliaries raised in occupied territories.

    Covers the history and combat career of aircraft carriers and shipboard aircraft from their conception into the future.

    The story of a Flight Lieutenant from the Royal Australian Air Force who, having parachuted over Northern Holland in 1943, had to make his escape and evasion through Holland, Belgium, France, Spain and Gibraltar.

    Taking his evidence from contemporary sources, Ian Gentles describes its formation under Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, their innovative tactics, the course of its decisive victories over the forces of Charles I, and its ferociously successful campaigns against the Scots and the Irish. As importantly, he examines the motivations and aspirations of the soldiers and their officers. The question of how far the New Model was a revolutionary army and how far a body of men whose religious passion was manipulated for the pragmatic, personal, or even conservative aims of its leaders is one that has occupied the minds of historians for three centuries. Ian Gentles provides a convincing resolution of this debate, raising new evidence to support his argument.

    Wirtz explains why U.S. forces were surprised by the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive in 1968. Wirtz reconstructs the turning point of the Vietnam War in unprecedented detail. Drawing upon Vietcong and recently declassified U.S. sources, he is able to trace the strategy and unfolding of the Tet campaign as well as the U.S. response.

    Park's full-scale biography of General Leonidas Polk, first published in 1962, presents the story of a man whose deeds of peace were no less than his feats of war.

    This book brings to life an important but little-known battle that broke the stalemate in the long and bloody campaign for Guadalcanal.

    (Malta was key to Britain's hopes of staying in the war and defeating the Axis Powers in North Africa.)Neil shows himself to be a skilled writer and conveys well the dangers and perils he faced while flying an obsolescent fighter (the Hawker Hurricane) against overwhelming enemy forces. He also brings alive to the reader what everyday life in Malta was like at that time as its people endured daily bombing raids and faced near starvation. Remarkably, Neil survived a number of close calls and by the time of his departure from the island, was one of the few survivors from his squadron (who had come out to Malta in May 1941) to return to Britain.

    By the end of the century, however, Germany in particular was ready to challenge England's hegemony on the seas by building a powerful navy of its own. The selection of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, commander of the German cruiser squadron of the Far East, to carry out the task, proved to be a fortuitous choice. By the time of World War I, the German High Seas Fleet was a formidable opponent for the Royal Navy. This book by Gary E. Weir is the first major historical analysis of the interaction between the imperial German Navy and the German armaments industry during the era of Alfred von Tirpitz. Weir makes clear the significant contribution of von Tirpitz to Germany's rise as a naval power. As head of the imperial Naval Office (the Reichsmarineamt, or RMA), von Tirpitz gained leverage over private shipbuilders and armament suppliers and at the same time kept the navy independent of government control. His considerable talents as a politician, shipbuilder, strategist, propagandist and manager were to a great degree responsible for the High Seas Fleet encountered by the Royal Navy at Jutland. Ironically, von Tirpitz never commanded the navy he built. Weir does not fail to delineate the shortcomings of his naval system, which was responsible for the fact that those in charge of the fleet's operations played little part in its creation. Von Tirpitz's system also resulted in a disregard of the significance of U-boat potential and a lack of geographic, strategic, and operational considerations. Nevertheless, his profound influence in the navy persisted through the Weimar Republic and into the Third Reich, in thepolicies of Admiral Erich Raeder, veteran of Jutland. Based on research in primary German sources from key repositories such as the German federal military archives in Freiburg and the Krupp archives in Essen, this book is bound to stimulate further scholarship in the field of G

    The science performed with these missiles was largely determined by the missile itself, such as learning more about the medium through which a ballistic missile travels. Groups rapidly formed within the military and military-funded university laboratories to build instruments to investigate the Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere, the nature of cosmic radiation, and the ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun. Few, if any, members of these research groups had prior experience or demonstrated interests in atmospheric, cosmic-ray, or solar physics. Although scientific agendas were at first centered on what could be done with missiles and how to make ballistic missile systems work, reports on techniques and results were widely publicized as the research groups and their patrons sought scientific legitimacy and learned how to make their science an integral part of the national security state. The process by which these groups gained scientific and institutional authority was far from straightforward and offers useful insight both for the historian and for the scientist concerned with how specialties born within the military services became part of post-war American science.

    The Allies expected the battle would be easily won but underestimated Japanese strength and resolve and grossly overestimated Allied capabilities.The battle opened on 19-20 November with attacks against Buna by the Americans, against Gona by the Australians, and against Sanananda by Australians and Americans. Tropical diseases, rain, mud and supply difficulties impaired both sides and the battle dragged on.By the time the last Japanese positions fell on 22 January 1943, about 1300 Australians and 1000 Americans lay dead, with thousands more evacuated wounded or sick. More than 6000 Japanese had fought to the death. It was the single most costly battle for Australians in 'the islands'.In this detailed account of the north coast campaigns McAulay has interviewed survivors and drawn extensively on the diaries and records of both sides.

    As a result, many people do not realize that military intelligence has played a significant role in history. However, intelligence gathering, evaluation, and analysis has always been part of war. Lack of knowledge of how intelligence has been utilized in wars makes for an incomplete and inaccurate picture of historical events. While many are aware of such things as the Allied code-breaking efforts in World War II, few know that similar activities were undertaken as early as the beginning of recorded history. By examining a number of case studies from Roman times to the present, Go Spy the Land reveals the essential continuity in military intelligence, the fact that many of the problems involved in military intelligence have remained constant, and the nature of the problems themselves. According to the authors, military intelligence has always been an important aspect of military planning and campaigns. Furthermore, military intelligence in its essentials has not changed over time: while technology and society have affected the ways in which this essential activity has been carried out, the problems inherent in the task have remained constant. The latter conclusion is something not generally appreciated in the intelligence field, which has been dominated by historians studying the twentieth century. This collection not only provides important case studies, but also shows that much of what is claimed as exclusively a product of the twentieth century has its roots as far back in time as the Roman Empire.

    It has other names, too, such as "conventional warfare in an urban environment", and most straightforwardly of all it is sometimes called "street fighting". Whatever the terminology, urban combat is becoming increasingly relevant in modern warfare, with vast sums being invested by NATO armies in building relevant training facilities. The British Army alone has one major facility in West Berlin, a second more recently completed on Salisbury Plain and a third planned at Sennelager in Germany. The urbanization of Western Europe is now such that in any future war it would be difficult not to fight in urban areas, and urban combat has consequently become a technique of major military significance. This book discusses its contemporary theory and practice.

    Describes and captures, in hundreds of illustrations, the colorful paintings--sharks' mouths, scoreboards, cartoon characters--with which soldiers decorated their aircraft from the First World War to Bush's War in the Gulf.

    This biography describes Sarsfield's unpromising early career where he was dismissed from the army, involved in a series of duels, and took part in two violent abductions of wealthy young widows. His second miltary career began after he had been seriously injured while serving as a volunteer at the battle of Sedgemoor. He survived to become the outstanding Irish soldier in the Williamite War. This book provides a detailed account of that war in Ireland, with special focus on Sarsfield's attack on Sligo, his part in the battle of the Boyne and his celebrated raid on King William's artillery train outside Limerick. Sarsfield's prominent and outspoken part in the politics of the day is evaluated, as are his actions in the final stages of the war at Athlone, Aughrim, and Limerick. His agreement to terms with the Williamites led to the treaty of Limerick. Within two years he died a general in the French army - the most celebrated Irishman of his time.

    His exploits as a fighter pilot in World War II and Korea are legendary; his rise from humble beginnings to success in military and business careers is inspiring. This is the full story of Gabby Gabreski, told in his own words. Gabreski's life is a classic American success story. Born to Polish immigrant parents in 1919, he nearly washed out of Notre Dame and then flight school. He was down to his last chance, and he made the most of it. A witness to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Gabby had his own first taste of air combat flying with a Polish RAF squadron. Shortly thereafter he joined the 56th Fighter Group of the U.S. 8th Air Force, and in seventeen months he shot down twenty-eight German planes, the highest total of any 8th Air Force pilot in Europe. He became a hero whose name was splashed across newspaper headlines from coast to coast. And then, on the very day he was to fly home to his fiancee and a hero's welcome, he took one last combat mission, crashed and, after a daring attempt to avoid capture, finished the war in a POW camp. Gabreski returned to combat in 1951, flying F-86 Sabrejets over Korea. He scored 6.5 more victories there, making him one of the few pilots ever to achieve ace status in two wars and in both propeller and jet aircraft. He retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1967 and spent the next twenty years working in the aviation industry, sustained, as always, by his devout religious faith and his deep love for his family. Now, drawing on his private documents and photographs, Gabby, along with writer Carl Molesworth, tells his thrillingeyewitness story with a candor and a vivid style that should earn this brave pilot a whole new generation of admirers.

    In his introduction, John C Ewers considers the influence of Secoy's book on scholars since its original publication in 1953.

    The author discusses the political, economic and military motivations that drive states to produce and export arms, and examines the different ways in which states respond to these motivations. By focusing on the processes of technological innovation and diffusion he is able to sketch an evolutionary picture of the diffusion of new military technology, and place the current arms trade in historical perspective.

    Utilising a wide range of primary sources, the study analyses the reasons for the breakdown of the Armistice Agreement between Egypt and Israel and the failure of efforts to mediate a peace accord.

    (Best Books for Young Adult Readers )