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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment > General
This title is the second in a series that employs a simple and
effective concept to illustrate and describe the multiplicity of
equipment and weapons systems used on the ground during World War
II. Whilst many books have described such weapons and war materiel,
Keith Ward's unique abilities as a 3D technical artist bring these
items to life, illustrated throughout in full colour. Here, in a
single concise volume, are all major and many minor and less
well-known items of Soviet weaponry and equipment, rendered
precisely, including detailed cutaways showing their internal
workings, information which is often absent from other
publications. Technical details are also provided. This is an
essential volume for anyone interested in the Soviet Army of World
War II.
The assault guns and tank destroyers deployed by the Wehrmacht
during the Second World War are not as famous as tanks like the
Tiger and Panther, but they were remarkably successful, and they
are the subject of Anthony Tucker-Jones's wide-ranging photographic
history. As the conflict progressed, the German army had to find a
use for its obsolete panzers, and this gave rise to the turretless
Sturmgeschutz or assault guns designed for infantry support. From
1944 onwards they played a vital role in Nazi Germany's
increasingly defensive war. A selection of rare wartime photographs
shows the variety of turretless armoured fighting vehicles that
were produced and developed - various models of the Sturmgeschutz
III, the Sturmhaubitze, Jagdpanzer, Panzerjager, Marder, Hetzer.
Often a lack of tanks meant that these armoured vehicles were
called on to fill the panzer's role, and they proved ideal during
the Germans' defensive battles on the Eastern Front as well as in
Italy and Normandy - they were instrumental in delaying Germany's
defeat.This highly illustrated account provides is a fascinating
introduction to one of the less well-known aspects of armoured
warfare during the Second World War.
In Samurai to Soldier, D. Colin Jaundrill rewrites the military
history of nineteenth-century Japan. In fifty years spanning the
collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate and the rise of the Meiji
nation-state, conscripts supplanted warriors as Japan’s principal
arms-bearers. The most common version of this story suggests that
the Meiji institution of compulsory military service was the
foundation of Japan’s efforts to save itself from the imperial
ambitions of the West and set the country on the path to great
power status. Jaundrill argues, to the contrary, that the conscript
army of the Meiji period was the culmination—and not the
beginning—of a long process of experimentation with military
organization and technology. Jaundrill traces the radical changes
to Japanese military institutions, as well as the on-field
consequences of military reforms in his accounts of the Boshin War
(1868–1869) and the Satsuma Rebellions of 1877. He shows how
pre-1868 developments laid the foundations for the army that would
secure Japan’s Asian empire.
The collecting of military theater made knives of World War II is
one of the fastest growing fields of collecting in America today.
These knives are very historical. They were individually handmade
by people who wanted to contribute to the war effort, as well as
the service men who used them. Most of these knives differ in style
and have very colorful handles. This is the only book available
that donates its entire contents to the collecting of theater made
knives and their values.
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are a type of unconventional
explosive weapon that can be deployed in a variety of ways, and can
cause loss of life, injury, and property damage in both military
and civilian environments. Terrorists, violent extremists, and
criminals often choose IEDs because the ingredients, components,
and instructions required to make IEDs are highly accessible. In
many cases, precursor chemicals enable this criminal use of IEDs
because they are used in the manufacture of homemade explosives
(HMEs), which are often used as a component of IEDs. Many precursor
chemicals are frequently used in industrial manufacturing and may
be available as commercial products for personal use. Guides for
making HMEs and instructions for constructing IEDs are widely
available and can be easily found on the internet. Other countries
restrict access to precursor chemicals in an effort to reduce the
opportunity for HMEs to be used in IEDs. Although IED attacks have
been less frequent in the United States than in other countries,
IEDs remain a persistent domestic threat. Restricting access to
precursor chemicals might contribute to reducing the threat of IED
attacks and in turn prevent potentially devastating bombings, save
lives, and reduce financial impacts. Reducing the Threat of
Improvised Explosive Device Attacks by Restricting Access to
Explosive Precursor Chemicals prioritizes precursor chemicals that
can be used to make HMEs and analyzes the movement of those
chemicals through United States commercial supply chains and
identifies potential vulnerabilities. This report examines current
United States and international regulation of the chemicals, and
compares the economic, security, and other tradeoffs among
potential control strategies. Table of Contents Front Matter
Summary 1 Introduction 2 Precursor Chemicals Used to Make Homemade
Explosives 3 Domestic Chemical Supply Chain 4 International
Regulations 5 Assessing Possible Control Strategies 6 Potential
Approaches to Restricting Malicious Actors' Access to Precursor
Chemicals: Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix A:
Acronyms Appendix B: Risk and Risk Management Appendix C: History
of High-Profile Bombing Attacks Appendix D: Group A Chemical Supply
Chains Appendix E: International Questions Appendix F: Training
Materials Appendix G: Methods and Limitations of Regulatory
Assessment Appendix H: Examples of Retail-Level Control Strategies
and Other Measures or Activities Appendix I: Committee Member and
Staff Biographies
First published in 1992, "Medieval Military Technology" has become
the definitive book in its field, garnering much praise and a large
readership. This thorough update of a classic book, regarded as
both an excellent overview and an important piece of scholarship,
includes fully revised content, new sections on the use of horses,
handguns, incendiary weapons, and siege engines, and eighteen new
illustrations.
The four key organizing sections of the book still remain: arms
and armor, artillery, fortifications, and warships. Throughout, the
authors connect these technologies to broader themes and
developments in medieval society as well as to current scholarly
and curatorial controversies.
Germany used many types of Russian battle tanks captured during
WWII, and this book gives an accurate account in both photographs
and text.
The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, volume 41 (Part II): 2016,
with a foreword by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs,
summarizes developments and trends in 2016 on key issues of
multilateral consideration at the international and regional
levels; reviews the activity of the General Assembly, the
Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission; and
contains a handy timeline of highlights of multilateral disarmament
in 2016.
The machine-gun is one of the iconic weapons of the Great War
indeed of the twentieth century. Yet it is also one of the most
misunderstood. During a four-year war that generated unprecedented
casualties, the machine-gun stood out as a key weapon. In the
process it took on an almost legendary status that persists to the
present day. It shaped the tactics of the trenches, while
simultaneously evolving in response to the tactical imperatives
thrown up by this new form of warfare. Paul Cornish, in this
authoritative and carefully considered study, reconsiders the
history automatic firepower, and he describes in vivid detail its
development during the First World War and the far-reaching
consequences thereof. He dispels many myths and misconceptions that
have grown up around automatic firearms, but also explores their
potency as symbols and icons. His clear-sighted reassessment of the
phenomenon of the machine-gun will be fascinating reading for
students of military history and of the Great War in particular.
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.
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