Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and events on the Eastern Front that same year were pivotal to the history of World War II. It was during this year that the radicalization of Nazi policy -- through both an all-encompassing approach to warfare and the application of genocidal practices -- became most obvious. Germany's military aggression and overtly ideological conduct, culminating in genocide against Soviet Jewry and the decimation of the Soviet population through planned starvation and brutal antipartisan policies, distinguished Operation Barbarossa-the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union-from all previous military campaigns in modern European history. This collection of essays, written by young scholars of seven different nationalities, provides readers with the most current interpretations of Germany's military, economic, racial, and diplomatic policies in 1941. With its breadth and its thematic focus on total war, genocide, and radicalization, this volume fills a considerable gap in English-language literature on Germany's war of annihilation against the Soviet Union and the radicalization of World War II during this critical year. Alex J. Kay is the author of Exploitation, Resettlement, Mass Murder: Political and Economic Planning for German Occupation Policy in the Soviet Union, 1940-1941 and is an independent contractor for the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences. Jeff Rutherford is assistant professor of history at Wheeling Jesuit University, where he teaches modern European history. David Stahel is the author of Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East and Kiev 1941: Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East.

Georg Bucher, a German infantryman from 1914 had lost almost all of his closest friends by 1918. The last friend he lost, Riedel, was crushed by a tank in one of the last battles of the war. This is his tale in their memory. A sergeant by 1918, Bucher describes nearly every part of the Western Front - the Marne, Verdun,Somme, Ypres, the Vosges and the 1918 Spring Offensive in vivid detail. He illustrates how his psychological state changed over the course of the war, how a soldier can in a split second turn from a human being into a killing machine without pity, killing as second nature, without thought.The raw endurance required to survive the trenches is narrated in undiluted fashion, no horrors are spared; the quagmire of 3rd Ypres, unrelenting lice and rats, the stench of death and descriptions ofa bhorrent actions such as (so Bucher alleges) French soldiers, under the influence of absinthe, mutilating some of his company for revenge on the Senegalese.Fans of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' or 'Storm of Steel' will be delighted to discover Bucher's work.

First published in 1918, this book is a record of observations and evidence compiled by the then US Consul in Queenstown, Eire. A rare study from first-hand accounts. Contains detailed testimonies of survivors from over fifty vessels attacked and often sunk by German submarines during the Great War.A vivid and accurate picture of the tactics and motives of German submarine warfare is provided in the first part of the book. The second part concentrate son the attack and sinking of RMS Lusitania. The sinking of the Lusitania remains a controversial topic with the loss of 1,198 lives on 7May 1915

On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew back to London from his meeting in Munich with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. As he disembarked from the aircraft, he held aloft a piece of paper, which contained the promise that Britain and Germany would never go to war with one another again. He had returned bringing "Peace with honour--Peace for our time."

Drawing on a wealth of archival material, acclaimed historian David Faber delivers a sweeping reassessment of the extraordinary events of 1938, tracing the key incidents leading up to the Munich Conference and its immediate aftermath: Lord Halifax's ill-fated meeting with Hitler; Chamberlain's secret discussions with Mussolini; and the Berlin scandal that rocked Hitler's regime. He takes us to Vienna, to the Sudentenland, and to Prague. In Berlin, we witness Hitler inexorably preparing for war, even in the face of opposition from his own generals; in London, we watch as Chamberlain makes one supreme effort after another to appease Hitler.

Resonating with an insider's feel for the political infighting Faber uncovers, "Munich, 1938 "transports us to the war rooms and bunkers, revealing the covert negotiations and" "scandals upon which the world's fate would rest. It is modern history writing at its best.""

The story of the 39th Divisional Field Ambulances beings in the year of 1915 at various recruiting offices, and continues in a thin, uncertain stream of variable humanity, finding its way to the Sussex Downs, facing the sea, at Cow Gap, Eastbourne, Here the lines of white tents, the whitewashed stones, the martial sounds and atmosphere welcomed the embryo soldier to the service of his country, and to fellowship unique and abiding. These embryo soldiers were to become the men that would be responsible for the mobile frontline medical units and had special responsibility for the care of casualties of the Brigades in their Division. Via Ypres tells of these young men - mostly mere boys and non-militaristic in their education - faced with the task of preparing to go to war to take part in the great struggle. These happy, cheerful and perhaps a bit casual soon-to-be soldiers remained just so once training was over but also became the gallant and efficient men who were to be faced with the danger and misery that war cannot help but bring; in doing so potentially risk their lives to save those of their comrades.

A Young serviceman in 1950s Hong Kong emerges from adolescene to a world where reality is difficult to define. He learns the conventions of lowscale counter-intelligence, experiencing situations from comical to terrifying, and whilst encountering exotic Eastern culture stumbles through the complexities of live, friendship and the meaning of life.

In the decades since the end of the Second World War, it has been widely assumed that the western model of liberal democracy and free trade is the way the world should be governed. However, events in the early years of the twenty-first century - first, the 2003 war with Iraq and its chaotic aftermath and, second, the financial crash of 2008 - have threatened the general acceptance that continued progress under the benign (or sometimes not so benign) gaze of the western powers is the only way forwards. And as America turns inwards and Europe is beset by austerity politics and populist nationalism, the post-war consensus looks less and less secure. But is this really the worst of times? In a forensic examination of the world we now live in, acclaimed historian Michael Burleigh sets out to answer that question. Who could have imagined that China would champion globalization and lead the battle on climate change? Or that post-Soviet Russia might present a greater threat to the world's stability than ISIS? And while we may be on the cusp of still more dramatic change, perhaps the risks will - in time - bring not only change but a wholly positive transformation. Incisive, robust and always insightful, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times is both a dazzling tour d'horizon of the world as it is today and a surprisingly optimistic vision of the world as it might become.

This is a rare chance to re-discover a contemporary account of a military conflict which took place a Century ago. The Agony of Belgium, written in 1914 by Frank Fox, a war correspondent, recounts events that the modern European mind would probably wish to forget. The bravery and resilience of the relatively new and untested Belgian Army, following the rejection of the German Ultimatum by the King, deserves a wider audience. Throughout this account the courageous and noble qualities of King Albert in the dark days come to the fore. Whether at the Front as an active Commander-in-Chief; with his people during Zeppelin raids and artillery bombardments at Antwerp; declining refuge in France after the retreat from Ostend; or rallying his troops for rearguard actions his conduct was of the finest. His account of the "frightfulness" of the events in Louvain against the civilian population- including women and children- and the sacking of cultural treasures was not at first believed by Officials in Antwerp. However his reporting of Zeppelin raid shelped to arouse public opinion in the United States.Fox provides vivid descriptions of a terrible, and little known, conflict.

`I was on a train, and a German soldier began shouting at me and poking me in the ribs with his machine gun. I just thought that was it, the game was up . . .' Downed airman Bob Frost faced danger at every turn as he was smuggled out of France and over the Pyrenees. Prisoner of war Len Harley went on the run in Italy, surviving months in hiding and then a hazardous climb over the Abruzzo mountains with German troops hot on his heels. These are just some of the stories told in heart-stopping detail as Monty Halls takes us along the freedom trails out of occupied Europe, from the immense French escape lines to lesser-known routes in Italy and Slovenia. Escaping Hitler features spies and traitors, extraordinary heroism from those who ran the escape routes and offered shelter to escapees, and great feats of endurance. The SAS in Operation Galia fought for forty days behind enemy lines in Italy and then, exhausted and pursued by the enemy, exfiltrated across the Apennine mountains. And in Slovenia Australian POW Ralph Churches and British Les Laws orchestrated the largest successful Allied escape of the entire war. Mixing new research, interviews with survivors and his own experience of walking the trails, Monty brings the past to life in this dramatic and gripping slice of military history.

This book provides a clear and lively account of how relations between Russia and America after World War Two fell into a Cold War. Assessing both the clash of ideas and personalities which brought about this confrontation the book highlights the emergences of a new mode of global politics. Looking at this conflict the book argues might help us to understand todays own troubled world.

It probably doesn't surprise anyone to learn that for each one of us, a childhood does matter. It's a lesson the planners of Britain's World War II evacuations should have kept in mind. Doreen Drewry Lehr searches for her childhood, lost when she was sent away from her mother before she was even five. She finds precious clues in conversations with those who shared her wartime experiences on the beautiful, isolated and harsh Yorkshire Moors. The second part of the book surveys Britain's social policies that separated children from home and parents
from the 17th century until 1967, when the last children left Britain - the majority falsely labeled as "orphans."

Based on many unpublished sources, this book narrates the individual parts played by over 1,500 of those who served with the 1/5th King's Own in the Great War. First seeing action in Flanders in March 1915, they fought in almost all of the major campaigns on the Western Front. Initially recruited from Lancaster, Morecambe, Blackpool and Fleetwood, this battalion was very much a 'family' unit with many of the men closely related and no less than seven father-son relationships within the battalion. Though these relationships helped strengthen the men in times of need, when casualties were suffered they brought extra heartache to the battlefield. Often, these tragic outcomes are related in the men's own words. Using a combination of mainly unpublished sources, this volume details the deeds of this gallant battalion. Wherever possible, accurate coordinates have been given for the places men served, fought and in many cases, were wounded or died. A series of sketch maps detail the trench locations in which the battalion fought. An appendix listing nearly 3,500 officers and men who served with the 1/5th is included and is the most complete battalion roll ever published.

‘Brave, compassionate and inspiring – it left me in floods of tears’ Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt

For more than twenty-five years, David Nott has taken unpaid leave from his job as a general and vascular surgeon with the NHS to volunteer in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out life-saving operations and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital.

The conflicts he has worked in form a chronology of twenty-first-century combat: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Gaza and Syria. But he has also volunteered in areas blighted by natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal.

Driven both by compassion and passion, the desire to help others and the thrill of extreme personal danger, he is now widely acknowledged to be the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world. But as time went on, David Nott began to realize that flying into a catastrophe – whether war or natural disaster – was not enough. Doctors on the ground needed to learn how to treat the appalling injuries that war inflicts upon its victims. Since 2015, the foundation he set up with his wife, Elly, has disseminated the knowledge he has gained, training other doctors in the art of saving lives threatened by bombs and bullets.

War Doctor is his extraordinary story