As the war began to swing in favour of the Allies, it became clear that no final defeat of the Third Reich would be possible until the armoured monsters of the Panzerwaffe were defeated. But who would, or even could, take on the mighty Tigers and Panthers, just a handful of which could stop entire formations in their tracks? The answer lay with the formation of a new type of unit, the Tank Destroyer Battalion. This is the story of the men and machines that made up the very first Tank Destroyer Battalion, the 601st, from their unique training and formation, to the final, desperate battles in the heart of Nazi Germany. Packed with rare material, letters, diaries and previously unpublished photographs, and now available in paperback, this is an intense and intimate chronicle of the men who fought the Panzers in an astonishing 10 campaigns and 546 days of lethal combat.

The different national tank doctrines of the United States and Imperial Japan resulted in a terrible mismatch of the predominant tank types in the crucial Central Pacific campaign. A flawed Japanese doctrine emphasized light infantry support tanks, often used in small numbers. Tactically, tanks were often frittered away in armored versions of the familiar banzai attacks. Meanwhile, the Americans saw the tank as an infantry support weapon, but developed a more systematic tactical doctrine. They settled upon a larger medium tank - in the case of most Marine Corps tank battalions, the diesel-powered M4A2 (unwanted by the US Army). This superbly detailed title reveals how both the two sides' tactical and technical differences in the approach to armored warfare soon became apparent over a series of deadly engagements, from the first tank fight at the battle of Tarawa in November 1943, through to engagements on Parry Island, Saipan, and Guam, before ending with Peleliu in September 1944.

An illustrated study of the fearsome multiple rocket launchers which are forever associated with the Soviet Red Army and modern Russia's armed forces. Although military rockets have been used since the Middle Ages, it was not until the Soviet Union pioneered the concept of Multiple Rocket Launchers (MRLs) in the late 1930s that they emerged as a decisive weapon. In the modern era, these Soviet/Russian Katyushas have served in combat in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Georgia. Developed to fill the operational need for massed artillery fire support, the MRL possesses enormous destructive power and a devastating psychological impact. Fully illustrated with photographs and artwork, this New Vanguard provides a survey of Soviet and Russian Federation MRLs from the beginning of their development in 1941 to the present. It focuses on the history, design, and specifications of self-propelled ground MRL systems, but also covers towed, static, railway, and naval mounts. It highlights the many variants of the principal systems and include MRL unit tables of organization and equipment, information on MRL munition types, and coverage of dedicated MRL resupply vehicles.

This book describes the wartime experiences of Reverend David Railton, MC, who was a chaplain on the Western Front during WWI. As a chaplain, Railton supported soldiers in their worst moments, he buried the fallen, comforted the wounded, wrote to the families of the missing and killed, and helped the survivors to remember and mark the loss of their comrades so that they were able to move on and do their job. He was present at many battles, and received the Military Cross for rescuing an officer and two men under heavy fire on the Somme. It was Railton's idea to bring home the body of a fallen comrade, whose identity was unknown, from the battlefields of Belgium and France to be buried in Westminster Abbey. Although suffering from what was obviously Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, after the war he carried out his duties as the vicar of Margate and took on many philanthropic works on behalf of the poor, especially supporting ex-servicemen who came home and had to deal with the aftermath of a terrible war and crippling unemployment. The story of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior has been told several times, including the part played by the Reverend David Railton, M.C. However, this book - based on hundreds of Railton's original letters, notes, and writings - is the first book to tell the story of the man himself and his flag, which he used as an altar cloth and shroud throughout the war, was consecrated a year after the burial of the Unknown Warrior, and now hangs in Westminster Abbey.

An in-depth analysis of the Chinese Armies that fought a series of increasingly fractious wars over nearly a century. Beginning with a run through of the Chinese forces that combated the British and French during the two Opium Wars, this history goes on to trace the forces who were drawn into internal wars and rebellions in the 1850s and 60s, the open warfare in North Vietnam, the string of defeats suffered during the First Sino-Japanese war and the Boxer Rebellion. Providing an unparalleled insight into the dizzying array of troop types and unique uniforms, this is a history of the sometimes-painful modernization of China's military forces during one of her most turbulent periods of history.

One of the most famous units of World War II and all of military history. First Americans to see active combat in the European theater. Expands on events described in Rick Atkinson's An Army at Dawn and The Day of BattleIn this gripping companion to his acclaimed The Battalion (978-0-8117-0184-6), which told the story of the 2nd Ranger Battalion in World War II, Robert W. Black turns his attention to the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions, otherwise known as Darby's Rangers. These elite soldiers accompanied British commandos on the failed Dieppe Raid in August 1942, participated in Operation Torch in North Africa three months later, battled across Sicily the following summer, and ended the war in Italy, where they landed at Salerno in September 1943 and Anzio in January 1944 and were decimated at the Battle of Cisterna.

By 1944, the overwhelming majority of the German Army had participated in the German war of annihilation in the Soviet Union and historians continue to debate the motivations behind the violence unleashed in the east. Jeff Rutherford offers an important new contribution to this debate through a study of combat and the occupation policies of three frontline infantry divisions. He shows that while Nazi racial ideology provided a legitimizing context in which violence was not only accepted but encouraged, it was the Wehrmacht's adherence to a doctrine of military necessity which is critical in explaining why German soldiers fought as they did. This meant that the German Army would do whatever was necessary to emerge victorious on the battlefield. Periods of brutality were intermixed with conciliation as the army's view and treatment of the civilian population evolved based on its appreciation of the larger context of war in the east.

This is a major new account of the role and performance of the Italian army during the First World War. Drawing from original, archival research, it tells the story of the army's bitter three-year struggle in the mountains of Northern Italy, including the eleven bloody battles of the Isonzo, the near-catastrophic defeat at Caporetto in 1917 and the successful, but still controversial defeat of the Austro-Hungarian army at Vittorio Veneto on the eve of the Armistice. Setting military events within a broader context, the book explores pre-war Italian military culture and the interactions between domestic politics, economics and society. In a unique study of an unjustly neglected facet of the war, John Gooch illustrates how General Luigi Cadorna, a brutal disciplinarian, drove the army to the edge of collapse, and how his successor, general Armando Diaz, rebuilt it and led the Italians to their greatest victory in modern times.

This is one of the most significant military books of the twentieth century. By an outstanding soldier of independent mind, it pushed forward the evolution of land warfare and was directly responsible for German armoured supremacy in the early years of the Second World War. Published in 1937, the result of 15 years of careful study since his days on the German General Staff in the First World War, Achtung Panzer! argues how vital the proper use of tanks and supporting armoured vehicles would be in the conduct of a future war. When that war came, just two years later, he proved it, leading his Panzers with distinction in the Polish, French and Russian campaigns. Panzer warfare had come of age, exactly as he had forecast.This first English translation of Heinz Guderian's classic book - used as a textbook by Panzer officers in the war - has an introduction and extensive background notes by the modern English historian Paul Harris.

This book describes the fate of the soldiers of the anti-Bolshevik White Army, who fled Russia at the end of the Russian civil war. Remarkably, the Army continued to exist in exile, refining its ideology, and participating in the underground struggle against the Soviets. Paul Robinson sheds new light on the dynamic individuals involved in the White Movement, as well as on interwar Russian emigration in general.

Conceived at the height of World War II, the British Centurion and the Soviet T-55 were initially expected to counter the formidable Panther and Tiger tanks of Germany. But as the Cold War unfolded, these machines prepared instead for the coming struggle between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Though they never fought in Europe, these two tanks became the mainstay of the Cold War's proxy forces around the world. From Korea to the Middle East and on to Angola, these two armored combatants clashed repeatedly, reaching their crescendo on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War where 177 Centurions of the IDF took on a vastly superior Arab force. This book compares the design, development and deployment of these classic tanks, and analyses their battlefield performance. Presented with highly detailed digital artwork, this is a tightly focused study of two of the Cold War's first main battle tanks.

Sieges played a key role in the crusades, but they tend to be overshadowed by the famous battles fought between the Franks and the Muslims, and no detailed study of the subject has been published in recent times. So Michael Fulton's graphic, wide-ranging and thought-provoking book is a landmark in the field. He considers the history of siege warfare in the Holy Land from every angle - the tactics and technology, the fortifications, the composition of the opposing armies, and the ways in which sieges shaped Frankish and Muslim strategy at each stage of the conflict. The differences and similarities between the Eastern and Western traditions are explored, as is the impact of the shifting balance of power in the region. The conclusions may surprise some readers. Neither the Muslims nor the Franks possessed a marked advantage in siege technology or tactics, their fortifications reflected different purposes and an evolving political environment and, although there were improvements in technologies and fortifications, the essence of siege warfare remained relatively consistent. Michael Fulton's book is a fascinating all-round reassessment of an aspect of the crusades that had a decisive impact on the outcome of the struggle. It will be essential reading for medieval and military historians.

They came together, citizen soldiers, in the summer of 1942, drawn to Airborne by the $50 monthly bonus and a desire to be better than the other guy. And at its peak -- in Holland and the Ardennes -- Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Divison, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world.

From the rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to the disbanding in 1945, Stephen Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company. In combat, the reward for a job well done is the next tough assignment, and as they advanced through Europe, the men of Easy kept getting the tough assignments.

They parachuted into France early D-Day morning and knocked out a battery of four 105 mm cannon looking down Utah Beach; they parachuted into Holland during the Arnhem campaign; they were the Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne, brought in to hold the line, although surrounded, in the Battle of the Bulge; and then they spearheaded the counteroffensive. Finally, they captured Hitler's Bavarian outpost, his Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden.

They were rough-and-ready guys, battered by the Depression, mistrustful and suspicious. They drank too much French wine, looted too many German cameras and watches, and fought too often with other GIs. But in training and combat they learned selflessness and found the closest brotherhood they ever knew. They discovered that in war, men who loved life would give their lives for them.

This is the story of the men who fought, of the martinet they hated who trained them well, and of the captain they loved who led them. E Company was a company of men who went hungry, froze, and died for each other, a company that took 150 percent casualties, a company where the Purple Heart was not a medal -- it was a badge of office.

Many thousands of different types of vehicles were used by the armies during the Second World War for various roles, including the fighting vehicles such as armoured cars and tanks. Today these are very popular with enthusiasts who restore these historic vehicles to their pristine state and attend specialist gatherings around the UK, Europe and the USA. This book explores original and reconstructed military vehicles from British, US, Russian, Italian and German forces using stunning colour photographs. It also provides a detailed history of each vehicle's development and use in the war, plus a wealth of technical information and rare internal shots. The range of vehicles includes trucks, ambulances, half-tracks, motorcycles, bulldozers, armoured cars and of course the impressive range of tanks, from tankettes to the fearsome German Tiger. Some vehicles are so rare that examples have been recreated using designs of the era and together with the original vehicles their fascinating wartime experiences are revealed. From the Moto Guzzi tricycle to the Schwimmwagen, the T-34 to the Austin ambulance, this is the perfect book for recreating, restoring and exploring the history of these classic military vehicles.

These two companion volumes on Soldiers and Society give new perspectives on Zimbabwe's liberation struggle. This work is an attempt to look at some of the realities of Zimbabwe's liberation war and at what happened afterwards, rather than at the comfortable myths. Both heroic and terrible deeds are recorded. Zimbabwe: University of Zimbabwe Publications

The day after Vasiliy Krysov finished school, on 22 June 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union and provoked a war of unparalleled extent and cruelty. For the next three years, as a tank commander, Krysov fought against the German panzers in some of the most intense and destructive armoured engagements in history including those at Stalingrad, Kursk and Knigsberg. This is the remarkable story of his war. As the commander of a heavy tank, a self-propelled gun - a tank destroyer - and a T-34, he fought his way westward across Russia, the Ukraine and Poland against a skilful and determined enemy which had previously never known defeat. The ruthlessness of this long and bitter campaign is vividly depicted in his narrative, as is the enormous scale and complexity of the fighting. Honestly, and with an extraordinary clarity of recall, he describes confrontations with German Tiger and Panther tanks and deadly anti-tank guns. He was wounded four times, his crewmen and his commanding officers were killed, but he was fated to survive and record his experience of combat. His memoirs give a compelling insight into the reality of tank warfare on the Eastern Front.

The fourth volume of PeKo Publishing s photo-monograph series, Sturmgeschutz III on the battlefield 2, has the publisher s usual corporate image displayed. The hardcover, landscape formatted book s brief introduction is followed by more than a hundred mainly unpublished photographs, published in the highest possible quality. Both the introduction and the captions are bilingual (English / Hungarian).

The M3 Lee was America's first mass-produced combat tank. Its unusual configuration of hull-mounted 75 mm gun and turret-mounted 37 mm cannon was a result of the rush to get the vehicle in production following Nazi Germany's rapid advances in Europe. Following heavy British tank losses in France, the Commonwealth turned to the US to bolster their tank stocks, and the M3 was adapted, through the use of a different turret style, to fill this need. Later, as more-advanced tanks became available, notably the M4 Sherman, the M3s were adapted to fill other roles. This book chronicles the development and use of these vehicles from concept to combat. Through dozens of archival photos, many never before published, as well as detailed photographs of some of the finest existent examples of surviving vehicles, these iconic armored fighting vehicles are explored, and their history is explained.

The history of the often-overlooked chewa Ethiopian warriors and their crucial role in defending their homeland against invasion, as well as their strong influence on political identity and the social infrastructure. Today best known for their role in defending Ethiopia from Italian invasion 1935-41, chewa warriors protected Ethiopia for centuries. Yet, depicted by some 19th-century Western observers as little more than "a horde" of warmongers, and later suppressed by Ethiopian monarchs who sought to create a centralized modern state, their contribution has been neglected. Drawing on oral and written sources, as well as the zeraf poetry through which theyexpressed themselves, this book explores for the first time in depth the history, practices and principles of warriorhood of the chewa, and their wider influence on society and state. Often self-trained individuals who began by defending their communities, by the end of the 19th century there were chewa warrior groups from almost all linguistic groups who fought together to resist foreign invaders. Some chewa enrolled in the service of the Ethiopian "kings of kings", who organized them as named corps that supplemented the formal defence of the state. Today, chewa political identity, which transcended social, familial, political and other groupings, remains deeply rooted in Ethiopian society.

First prototypes of German tank destroyer Sturmgeschutz III (StuG III) were built in 1937 and based on PzKpfw III Ausf. B tank. Vehicles were armed with short-barelled 75mm gun. From spring, 1942, StuG IIIs were equipped with StuK 40 75mm gun. Self propelled guns StuG III served in separated assault artillery units, and later in self propelled guns brigades. They were also used in support units of armoured divisions.

The Soviet T-34 was the most produced tank of the Second World War and its revolutionary sloping armour became a major influence on future tank design. With its combination of heavy firepower, mobility and protection, the T-34 gave the Red Army a war-winning weapon with which to break the German Army on the Eastern Front. A mainstay of the Soviet armoured divisions, it was widely exported after the war and in 2017 it remains in frontline service with many third world countries. Author Mark Healy combines a detailed technical examination of the T-34 with its legendary combat history.

Combining the destructive firepower of the 88mm gun with the outstanding mobility of the Panther series, the Jagdpanther is quite probably the best-known tank destroyer of the Second World War. In the vehicle's first action on 30 July 1944, three Jagdpanthers managed to destroy eleven British tanks in a vicious two minute firefight near the village of Les Loges in Normandy, cementing the Jagdpanther's reputation as a potent tank killer. In his fifth book in the TankCraft series, Dennis Oliver uses contemporary photographs and meticulously researched, superbly presented colour and monochrome illustrations to tell the story of these heavy self-propelled anti-tank guns and the units which operated them in the German defence of the Western Front. As with all the books in the TankCraft series, a large part of this work showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of expertly constructed and painted models. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also explained giving the modeller all the information and knowledge required.

The book describes my first seven months in Viet Nam, as a platoon leader in Bravo Company of the Third Battalion, 187th Infantry. I wanted to make it about the men I led and served with, and in some measure my reaction to the events of those seven months. The first part of the book deals with the routine tactics, unending work, misery and occasional hilarity of infantry life. The bulk of the book, however, deals with two events, within three weeks of each other: The battle of Dong Ngai and the battle of Dong Ap Bia - Hamburger Hill. The Rakkasans - the 3/187th - are the most highly decorated unit in the history of the United States Army, and two of those decorations were awarded for those two battles. By happenstance, I was in the middle of both. These are truly historical events. I wanted to convey the real face of war, both its mindless carnage and its nobility of spirit. Above all, I want to convey what happened to both the casual reader and the military historian and make them aware of the extraordinary spirit of the men of First Platoon, Bravo Company. They were ordinary men doing extraordinary things.