It is said that artillery won the Second World War for the Allies - that Soviet guns wore down German forces on the Eastern Front, negating their superior tactics and fighting ability, and that the accuracy and intensity of the British and American artillery was a major reason for the success of Allied forces in North Africa from El Alamein, in Italy and Normandy, and played a vital role in the battles of 1944 and 1945\. Yet the range of weapons used is often overlooked or taken for granted - which is why this highly illustrated history by Simon and Jonathan Forty is of such value. They stress the importance of artillery on every front and analyse how artillery equipment, training and tactical techniques developed during the conflict. The selection of wartime photographs - many from east European sources - and the extensive quotations from contemporary documents give a graphic impression of how the guns were used on all sides. The photographs emphasize the wide range of pieces employed as field, anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery without forgetting self-propelled guns, coastal and other heavyweights and the development of rockets. The authors offer a fascinating insight into the weapons that served in the artillery over seventy years ago.

This study explores the use and significance of Roman weaponry and horse gear from non-military contexts in the eastern Rhine delta - the territory of the Batavians. Using a life-cycle model for Roman soldiers, the author interprets the large quantity of 1st-century finds as personal memorabilia brought home by ex-soldiers as a reminder of their 25 years of service, symbolising their newly-acquired veteran status. Underpinning the research is an extensive inventory of militaria from urban centres, rural settlements, cult places, rivers and graves, presented in 96 plates. The study not only presents a considerable body of unpublished data, but also offers an intriguing perspective on daily life in the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, with its closely interwoven military and civilian values. Amsterdam Archaeological Studies is a series devoted to the study of past human societies from the prehistory up into modern times, primarily based on the study of archaeological remains. The series will include excavation reports of modern fieldwork; studies of categories of material culture; and synthesising studies with broader images of past societies, thereby contributing to the theoretical and methodological debates in archaeology.

Guns have never before been as important in American culture as they are at this moment. Most contemporary conversations on guns focus on either the gun as a tool used in mass killings or a right to be fiercely defended, with most debates deadlocking on the ultimate role of humans in causing gun violence-that, as the cliche goes, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." And yet for all this attention, too much of the discussions on gun violence and gun control take the gun as passive object, ignoring the changing effects, and the very agency, that guns may deploy as politicized objects. The Lives of Guns offers a new and compelling way of thinking about the role of the gun in our social and political lives. In gathering ideas from science studies, law, sociology, and politics, each chapter turns the stale, standard gun conversations around by investigating the gun as a technology and thus as an object with its own power and agency. In approaching guns from a tech perspective, down to the very science of how they are created and how they fire, The Lives of Guns takes up a number of questions, such as: How does the presence of these specific objects shape civic ideology? What does it mean to develop and care for gun and gun accessories technology? What do guns mean to those who build them versus those who fight for-and against-them? What could happen when drone technology meets gun technology? In bringing together a great breadth of perspectives from leading lawyers, political scientists, and historians, The Lives of Guns promises to move the gun debate forward by opening up new ways of thinking about these issues, ultimately broadening our conception of what counts as an issue in these debates.

This new large format volume is a grand tribute to all of those who served in SAC from its inception in 1947 to its disestablishment in 1992. The great variety of aircraft and missile systems of Strategic Air Command are shown in over 800 color and black and white photographs, making this volume one of the definitive pictorials on the subject.

The technological relationship between the three main civilizations of the Western world - Byzantium, the Islamic world and the West - most particularly in the area of arms, armour and military technology is a field of research for which Dr Nicolle is noted. This volume deals principally with Western Europe and Byzantium, which for many centuries learnt from the Muslims in these matters; several articles also focus on military interactions in the Crusader states. The work draws upon both written and archaeological sources, but above all makes use of the depictions of war and military equipment in contemporary art to examine the interconnections across the medieval world.

These articles are devoted to the two main aspects of medieval warfare: men and technology. Men fought, led, and ultimately killed in war, while the technology that they used facilitated these tasks. The first group of essays highlights human strengths in the fighting of medieval wars, with a focus on events of the 14th and 15th centuries, specifically the Anglo-French wars and wars against the Turks. A second group addresses the technological side of warfare, in particular the advent and proliferation of early gunpowder weapons which evolved rapidly during the late Middle Ages, although never replacing the role of men. The articles study various facets of this evolution, from the increased use and effectiveness of guns in battles, sieges, and naval warfare, to changes in their science and metallurgy, surgical treatment of wounds caused by them, and governmental centralization of the technology.

These essays explore the increase in interest in non-lethal weapons. Such devices have meant that many armed forces and law enforcement agencies are able to act against undesirables without being accused of acting in an inhumane way.
Topics for discussion in this volume include: an overview of the future of non-lethal weapons; emerging non-lethal technologies; military and police operational deployment of non-lethal weapons; a scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of non-lethal weapons; changes in international law needed to take into account non-lethal technologies; developments in genomics leading to new chemical incapacitants; implications for arms control and proliferation; the role of non-lethal weapons in human rights abuses; conceptual, theoretical and analytical perspectives on the nature of non-lethal weapons development.

Intrigued by hints of "the bigger man" behind the war personality of Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., the Curator of History of the West Point Museum and a former "Army wife" studied and compared innumerable legends and stories about him. The resulting profile is the unvarnished Patton, as the public saw him and as his friends and soldiers knew him. Based solidly on contemporary sources, many of them never before tapped by historians, Patton's exploited in Mexico, in France in 1918, and during World War II, are strung together by kernels of truth often more startling than the fiction which has surrounded them. One of America's most famous and controversial generals is depicted through his attitude toward his famous hand guns and uniforms, and the manner in which he reacted to war and to peace. Four pistols are featured in the book, because four pistols were featured in his ife. Sixteen pages of pertinent illustrations, many published for the first time...including the only known photograph of Patton carrying two

The Mosin-Nagant is the world's longest-surviving and most widely distributed military rifle, having armed the forces of Russia and many other countries for more than five decades. It has seen action from World War I to the present day, but is most famous for its role during World War II when it proved to be an excellent sniping weapon in the hands of marksmen such as Vasily Zaitsev and Simo Hayha. This study covers the rifle's entire combat history, from its early development through to its service in combat and the impact it has had on modern firearms. Dramatic battle reports and specially commissioned artwork complement the meticulously researched examination of the Mosin-Nagant provided by author Bill Harriman as he delves into the history of one of the most iconic rifles of World War II.

Joshua Chamberlain has fascinated historians and readers ever since his service in the Civil War caused his commanding officers to sit up and take notice when the young professor was on the field. What makes a man a gifted soldier and natural leader? In this compelling book, Diane Monroe Smith argues that finding the answer requires a consideration of Chamberlain's entire life, not just his few years on the battlefield. Truly understanding Chamberlain is impossible, Smith maintains, without exploring the life of Joshua's soul mate and wife of almost fifty years, Fanny. In this dual biography, Fanny emerges as a bright, talented woman who kept Professor, General, and then Governor Chamberlain on his toes. But you don't have to take Smith's word for it. Liberally quoting from years of correspondence, the author invites you to judge for yourself.

Unexploded ordnance is comprised of mines, shells and bombs. This represents a serious danger on old battlefields and military test ranges. Clean-up of such areas is difficult and expensive, particularly since existing detection techniques, when set to high sensitivity, have a high false alarm rate due to other non-hazardous objects. Reviewing the unexploded ordnance problem, including mines and existing electromagnetic detection technology, this book gives a detailed treatment of target signatures (natural frequencies and related parameters) for identification and discrimination from false targets.

Making Arms in the Machine Age traces the growth and development of the United States Arsenal at Frankford, Pennsylvania, from its origin in 1816 to 1870. During this period, the arsenal evolved from a small post where skilled workers hand-produced small arms ammunition to a full-scale industrial complex employing a large civilian workforce.

James Farley uses the history of the arsenal to examine larger issues including the changing technology of early nineteenth-century warfare, the impact of new technology on the United States Army, and the reactions of workers and their families and communities to the coming of industrialization. Shortly after the War of 1812, the U. S. Army founded several new arsenals, including Frankford, to build up supplies of arms and ammunition then in short supply. At that time, the Army was held in low regard because of its perceived poor performance in the war, so the arrival of arsenals was not welcomed. By 1870, however, the arsenal at Frankford had integrated itself into the community and become a valued and respected member of it.

Farley argues that the Ordnance Department of the U. S. Army created an industrial system of manufacture at Frankford well in advance of private industry. He also contends that the evolution of the Army into an employer of a large-scale civilian workforce helped to end the isolation and anti-militarism that plagued it after the War of 1812. Farley's study joins recent work in the history of technology, such as Judith McGaw's That Wonderful Machine, that seeks to understand technological change in its social and cultural context.

Viking warriors were feared by their contemporaries and their ferocious reputation has survived down to the present day. This book covers the military history of the Vikings from their early raiding to the final failure of their expansionist ambitions directed against England. In that period Viking warbands and increasingly large armies had left their Scandinavian homelands to range across vast regions, including the whole of Northern Europe and beyond, even reaching North America. The British Isles were terrorized for two centuries and at times largely conquered, in Normandy, Russia and elsewhere they also settled and founded states. Tough, skilled and resourceful, with a culture that embraced the pursuit of immortal fame and a heroic death in battle, their renown as warriors was second to none. As far afield as Constantinople, the Byzantine emperors employed them as their elite Varangian Guard. Gabriele Esposito outlines the history of their campaigns and battles and examines in detail their strategy, tactics, weapons, armour and clothing. The subject is brought to life by dozens of colour photographs of replica equipment in use.

Are NATO's mutual security commitments strong enough today to deter all adversaries? Is the nuclear umbrella as credible as it was during the Cold War? Backed by the full range of US and allied military capabilities, NATO's mutual defense treaty has been enormously successful, but today's commitments are strained by military budget cuts and antinuclear sentiment. The United States has also shifted its focus away from European security during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently with the Asia rebalance. Will a resurgent Russia change this? The Future of Extended Deterrence brings together experts and scholars from the policy and academic worlds to provide a theoretically rich and detailed analysis of post--Cold War nuclear weapons policy, nuclear deterrence, alliance commitments, nonproliferation, and missile defense in NATO but with implications far beyond. The contributors analyze not only American policy and ideas but also the ways NATO members interpret their own continued political and strategic role in the alliance. In-depth and multifaceted, The Future of Extended Deterrence is an essential resource for policy practitioners and scholars of nuclear deterrence, arms control, missile defense, and the NATO alliance.

Making its debut in 1935, the Browning High-Power was the world's most widely used military pistol for much of the 20th century. Military and law-enforcement agencies in more than 90 countries have issued the High-Power and it has seen combat in conflicts from World War II through to the 'War on Terror'. After conquering Belgium, Nazi Germany produced more than 300,000 High-Powers for use by the Waffen-SS, Fallschirmjager and others, and after 1945 the High-Power became standard for most NATO-armed forces as well as scores of others. Chambered for the 9x19mm Luger cartridge, John Browning's High-Power improved on the classic Colt M1911 design, especially in its use of a far simpler takedown system. The pistol's innovative 13-round magazine, designed by Dieudonne Saive, staggered the cartridges for higher capacity without unduly increasing the grip size. During its 82-year production run at Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Belgium, the design evolved slightly, but a 2017 High-Power was still easily recognizable as a descendant of the original model. Packed with gripping material including detailed technical specifications, contemporary photographs and highly accurate artist's renditions, this title is a comprehensive and informative guide to the world's most iconic semi-automatic pistol.

In 1915-18, ANZAC and Ottoman soldiers clashed on numerous battlefields, from Gallipoli to Jerusalem. This illustrated study investigates the two sides' fighting men. The Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16 pitched the Australian and New Zealand volunteers known as the ANZACs into a series of desperate battles with the Ottoman soldiers defending their homeland. In August 1915, the bitter struggle for the high ground known as Chunuk Bair saw the peak change hands as the Allies sought to overcome the stalemate that set in following the landings in April. The ANZACs also played a key part in the battle of Lone Pine, intended to divert Ottoman attention away from the bid to seize Chunuk Bair. The Gallipoli campaign ended in Allied evacuation in the opening days of 1916. Thereafter, many ANZAC units remained in the Middle East and played a decisive role in the Allies' hard-fought advance through Palestine that finally forced the Turks to the peace table. The fateful battle of Beersheba in October 1917 pitted Australian mounted infantry against Ottoman foot soldiers as the Allies moved on Jerusalem. In this book, noted military historian Si Sheppard examines the fighting men on both sides who fought at Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and Beersheba. The authoritative text is supported by specially commissioned artwork and mapping plus carefully chosen archive photographs.

This invaluable resource offers students a comprehensive overview of the Manhattan Project and the decision to drop the atomic bomb, with more than 80 in-depth articles on a variety of topics and dozens of key primary source documents. This book provides everything readers need to know about the Manhattan Project, the U.S. program that led to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. It begins with a detailed introduction to the project and includes an alphabetical collection of relevant entries on such topics as the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb; Enrico Fermi, creator of the first nuclear reactor; Hiroshima, the target of the first atomic bomb; and Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Manhattan Project. Dozens of primary sources include eyewitness accounts, government memos, letters, press releases, and other important documents relevant to the establishment and success of the Manhattan Project. A set of four essays written by prominent scholars address whether the United States was justified in dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The book also includes a comprehensive chronology that reveals key moments related to the creation of the world's first nuclear weapon as well as a bibliography of resources that points readers toward additional information on the Manhattan Project, nuclear weapons, and World War II. Provides an important resource for understanding the decision-making process and programs that led to the successful development of the atomic bomb Offers readers the critical material to understand the controversial decision by President Harry Truman to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Provides an A through Z review of all the key reference content needed to form the complete picture of the Manhattan Project Introduces readers to many of the key primary source documents related to the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb

This is the absorbing story of the development, combat use and legacy of the influential sidearms used by the armed forces of the Soviet Union. Featuring archive and present-day photography and specially commissioned artwork, this is the story of the pistols that armed the forces of the Soviet Union and its allies during and after World War II. In 1930 the TT, a single-action semi-automatic pistol developed by Fedor Vasilyevich Tokarev and firing 7.62x25mm ammunition, began to supplement the venerable Nagant M1895 revolver in Soviet military service. From 1933 the TT-33, a simplified version, was also issued; all three would equip Soviet and proxy forces throughout and after World War II, seeing action across the globe. In 1951 a new pistol designed by Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov entered Soviet service; it became the primary Soviet military and police sidearm during the Cold War era and continued in use into the 21st century. The 9x18mm Makarov round was used in various weapons used by Soviet allies, notably the Czech vz 82, the Hungarian FEG PA63 and the Polish P64 and P83.The PM was quickly joined by the Stechkin machine pistol. Other specialized versions of the Makarov were developed, including the PB suppressed version and the 5.45x18mm PSM, a more compact version. Initially developed in 1990, the improved PMM version of the Makarov was intended primarily to increase the stopping power of the 9x18mm round by chambering a higher-pressure load. In this study, noted weaponry expert Leroy Thompson tells the story of the Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and other handguns in service with Soviet and other forces around the world, exploring the development, combat use and legacy of these formidable firearms.

This encyclopedia traces the fascinating history of knives, daggers, bayonets, swords, sabres and lances, from their Palaeolithic origins through to the 21st century. Weapons from around the world are examined, such as the decorated daggers of Persia and the exquisite knives of Japan. A superb directory features 750 examples of sharp-edged weapons, describing the origins, capabilities and specifications of each one. With 1500 photographs and illustrations, and written by leading experts in the field, this beautiful guide is an indispensable resource for the serious collector and amateur enthusiast alike, and will fascinate anyone with an interest in historical weapons.

This new study lifts the veil on the high-profile but often misunderstood gladiators of ancient Rome, from their origins to the dawn of the Principate. Originating in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, the Roman gladiator games have come to symbolize the spectacle and savagery of Republican and Imperial Rome. Increasingly elaborate rules and rituals governed the conduct of gladiator combat, with an array of specially armed and armoured gladiator types pitted against one another, either singly or in groups. While many gladiators met a grisly end, some survived to achieve celebrity and make huge fortunes. Despite the wealth of literary and archaeological evidence, many misconceptions about the gladiators and their violent world remain. Featuring eight plates of stunning specially commissioned artwork alongside photographs and drawings of key items of visual evidence, this fully illustrated account recreates the little-known and under-represented gladiators of the centuries leading up to the dawn of the Principate, correcting myths and casting new light on the roles, lives and legacy of these legendary arena fighters.

The origins, development and use of the two-edged knightly sword of the European middle ages, from the great migrations to the Renaissance. Forty years of intensive research into the specialised subject of the straight two-edged knightly sword of the European middle ages are contained in this classic study. Spanning the period from the great migrations to the Renaissance, Ewart Oakeshott emphasises the original purpose of the sword as an intensely intimate accessory of great significance and mystique. There are over 400 photographs and drawings, each fully annotated and described in detail, supported by a long introductory chapter with diagrams of the typological framework first presented in The Archaeology of Weapons and further elaborated in The Sword in the Age of Chivalry. There are appendices on inlaid blade inscriptions, scientific dating, the swordsmith's art, and a sword of Edward III. Reprinted as part of Boydell's History of the Sword series.

While Germany and Austria-Hungary were well-equipped with sniping rifles in 1914, their Allied opponents were not. This highly illustrated volume tells the inside story of the rifles carried by snipers of all the major powers during World War I. Although military sharpshooting had existed since the 18th century, in 1914 only the German and Austro-Hungarian armies fielded trained snipers armed with scoped rifles. Thus upon the outbreak of World War I, the Allied armies found themselves on the receiving end of a shooting war to which they had no means of response. Only the Canadians brought a dedicated sniping rifle into the trenches, but in small numbers. For the British, although production of a suitable rifle and scope were settled on quickly, the establishment of sniper training was difficult and its success was mostly due to the efforts of a handful of dedicated officers. The French eventually introduced a competent scoped rifle and a sniper training system, as did the Italians. Entering the war in 1917, the Americans experienced rifle shortages but were able to build on their pre-1914 efforts to find a suitable sniping weapon. The country that suffered most grievously was Russia; Russian troops fielded no snipers at all and suffered accordingly. Featuring full-colour artwork, carefully chosen archive images and photographs of the sniping rifles and accessories used in the trenches, this is the inside story of the rifles carried by snipers of all the major powers during World War I.

A multidisciplinary overview of current research into the enduringly fascinating martial artefact which is the sword. The sword is the most iconic of all weapons. Throughout history, it has connected various, sometimes conflicting, dimensions of human culture: physical combat and representation of political power, definition of gender roles and refinement of body techniques, evolution of craftsmanship and mythological symbolism. The articles collected here explore these dimensions, from a variety of disciplines, among them archaeology, medieval history, museum conservation, and linguistics. They cover topics from the production and combat use of Bronze Age swords via medieval fencing culture to the employment of the sword in modern military. They question traditional sword typologies and wide-spread theories about sword making, discuss medieval sword terminology and the use of swords as royal insignia, and describe the scientific methods for approaching original finds. Arising from an international conference held at Deutsches Klingenmuseum Solingen (the German Blade Museum), the volume provides fresh insights into the forms the sword can take, and the thoughts it inspires. LISA DEUTSCHER and MIRJAM E. KAISER work in prehistoric archaeology, specialising in La Tène and Bronze Age swords, respectively. SIXT WETZLER is the deputy director of the German Blade Museum; his research focuses on the history of edged weapons, and their use. Contributors:Matthias Johannes Bauer, Holger Becker, Jan-Heinrich Bunnefeld, Rachel J. Crellin, Vincenzo D'Ercole, Andrea Dolfini, Raphael Hermann, Daniel Jaquet, Robert W. Jones, Ulrich Lehmann, Claus Lipka, Stefan Maeder, Michael Mattner, Florian Messner, Nicole Mölk, Ingo Petri, Stefan Roth, Fabrizio Savi, Ulrike Töchterle, Iason-Eleftherios Tzouriadis, Marion Uckelmann, Henry Yallop

Representative examples of swords from 8th-11th century, fully described and illustrated, with general overview. This beautifully illustrated work fills a gap in the literature in English on the swords made and used in northern Europe during the Viking age, between the mid eighth and the mid eleventh centuries. Ewart Oakeshott outlines the significance and diversity of these ancient heirlooms; co-author Ian Peirce, who handled hundreds of swords in his research for this book in museums across northern Europe, selects and describes sixty of the finest representative weapons. Where possible, full-length photographs are included, in addition to illustrations of detail; an illustrated overview of blade types and construction, pattern-welding, inscription and handle forms and their classificationprefaces the catalogue of examples which is the principal part of this work. IAN PEIRCE was a lecturer and museum consultant specialising in early swords; EWART OAKESHOTT was renowned for his pioneer studies on a wide range of medieval swords.