Originally from west Kerry, Thomas Ashe was a schoolteacher in north County Dublin and a founding member of the Irish Volunteers. During the 1916 Rising he commanded the Fingal Battalion of the Volunteers, who were tasked with destroying the communications network of the British establishment north of Dublin city. This culminated in the Battle of Ashbourne, where the tactics used were a precursor of the guerrilla warfare techniques that were to be so effective in the War of Independence. Ashe was sentenced to death alongside Eamon de Valera, but their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. He led a hunger strike in Lewes Prison in May 1917 and was released under a general amnesty in June. Ashe was re-arrested in August for a speech he made in Co. Longford. He was imprisoned in Mountjoy, where he went on hunger strike in September for prisoner-of-war status. He died on 25 September, having been force-fed by the prison authorities. Michael Collins delivered the oration at his funeral and the circumstances of his death and funeral became one of the key factors in tipping public opinion towards supporting the cause of the 1916 rebels.

The Samurai warrior is one of the most famous types of soldier, with his intricate armour, longbow and distinctive katana sword, as well as his strict martial code. But samurai warfare and military culture is much misunderstood in the modern era. In Samurai Weapons & Fighting Techniques, Thomas D. Conlan traces the history and development of samurai warfare over seven centuries, beginning with the historic dominance of the mounted, bow-armed samurai, moving through the introduction of naginata-wielding ashigaru (skirmishers) and pike formations, and finishing with the revolutionary introduction of firearms and cannon. Conlan analyses the success of particular samurai dynasties, such as the Ashikaga, Uesugi and Tokugawa clans, and examines the role of many of the great battlefield commanders - such as Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu - at key battles like Kawanakajima (1561), Nagashino (1575) and the siege of Osaka (1615). The book is illustrated throughout with more than 300 detailed line drawings and colour photographs showing the weapons, equipment, techniques and tactics of the samurai. Types of armour - such as o-yoroi, haramaki and paper armour - and weapons - such as the tachi long sword, wakizashi short sword and yari (pike) - are depicted in detail. Expertly written, Samurai Weapons & Fighting Techniques is a highly illustrated, accessible introduction to samurai warfare for both the military enthusiast and general reader.

Shay looks at the crucial yet unheralded role played by support troops in World War I, in particular those in the medical branch. The unarmed men of the 103rd Field Hospital Company, 26th (Yankee) Division spent a year and a half in France performing their duty bravely under arduous conditions. The experiences of the men of the 103rd Field Hospital were undoubtedly shared by any member of a frontline field hospital. Based on nearly four years of research, including original archival material, he fills an important gap in the military history of World War I.

"A Grateful Heart" is a detailed account of the 103rd Field Hospital Company, 26th (Yankee) Division in World War I. All aspects of the company are examined. The book is more than a chronological narrative and it places the unit in the context of the larger role of the 26th Division. It features original maps and passenger lists showing the members of the unit who sailed to France in 1917 and who returned in 1919.

Why, despite the appalling conditions in the trenches of the Western Front, was the British army almost untouched by major mutiny during the First World War? Drawing upon an extensive range of sources, including much previously unpublished archival material, G. D. Sheffield seeks to answer this question by examining a crucial but previously neglected factor in the maintenance of the British army's morale in the First World War: the relationship between the regimental officer and the ordinary soldier.

Tracing the "American Guerrilla" narrative through more than one hundred years of film and television, this book shows how the conventions and politics of this narrative influence Americans to see themselves as warriors, both on screen and in history. American guerrillas fight small-scale battles that, despite their implications for large-scale American victories, often go untold. This book evaluates those stories to illumine the ways in which film and television have created, reinforced, and circulated an "American Guerrilla" fantasy—a mythic narrative in which Americans, despite having the most powerful military in history, are presented as underdog resistance fighters against an overwhelming and superior occupying evil. Unconventional Warriors: The Fantasy of the American Resistance Fighter in Television and Film explains that this fantasy has occupied the center of numerous war films and in turn shaped the way in which Americans see those wars and themselves. Informed by the author's expertise on war in contemporary literature and popular culture, this book begins with an introduction that outlines the basics of the "American Guerrilla" narrative and identifies it as a recurring theme in American war films. Subsequent chapters cover one hundred years of American "guerrillas" in film and television. The book concludes with a chapter on science fiction narratives, illustrating how the conventions and politics of these stories shape even the representation of wholly fictional, imagined wars on screen.

This handbook by 14 well-known experts provides an overall analysis of U.S. military strengths and weaknesses in the 1990s and needs at the turn of the century. The first part of the book covers the U.S. armed forces under the Department of Defense and the military chain of command. The second half of the book deals with the American way of war, different military conflicts, and noncombat contingencies. The introduction defines national security concepts and sets the stage for the assessments that follow; the conclusion evaluates the military challenges confronting the United States in the 21st century. Each chapter offers short lists of readings. A glossary and comprehensive index make this an easy-to-use reference for students, teachers, professionals, and general readers concerned with America's defense needs.

'No one has done more than Michael Livingston to revive memories of the battle, and you could not hope for a better guide.' BERNARD CORNWELL Bestselling author of The Last Kingdom series Late in AD 937, four armies met at Brunanburh. On one side stood the shield-wall of the expanding kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. On the other side, a remarkable alliance of rival kings - at least two from across the sea - who had come together to destroy the Anglo-Saxons once and for all. The stakes were no less than the survival of the dream that would become England. The armies were massive. The violence, when it began, was enough to shock a violent age. Brunanburh may not today have the fame of Hastings, Crecy or Agincourt, but generations later it was still called, quite simply, the 'great battle'. For centuries now, its location has been lost but after an extraordinary effort, uniting enthusiasts, historians, archaeologists and linguists the location of these bloodied fields may well have been identified. This groundbreaking new book tells the story of this remarkable discovery and delves into why and how the battle happened. Most importantly, though, it is about the men who fought and died at Brunanburh, and how much this forgotten struggle can tell us about who we are and how we relate to our past.

In July 1943 the German army launched what was to be its last major offensive on Soviet soil. Codenamed Operation Citadel, the attack had initially been scheduled to commence in May but was postponed by Hitler on a number of occasions to allow the divisions in the East to be reinforced and to ensure that the new Panther tanks could be deployed. In the fifth book on the Panther in this series Dennis Oliver examines the first vehicles that left the assembly plants to go into service against the Red Army as part of Operation Citadel and the units that arrived in the late summer and early autumn of 1943. In addition to archive photographs and painstakingly researched, exquisitely presented colour illustrations, a large part of this book showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of the Panther tanks that fought in the East in 1943.

This is a major new history of the British army during the Great War written by three leading military historians. Ian Beckett, Timothy Bowman and Mark Connelly survey operations on the Western Front and throughout the rest of the world as well as the army's social history, pre-war and wartime planning and strategy, the maintenance of discipline and morale and the lasting legacy of the First World War on the army's development. They assess the strengths and weaknesses of the army between 1914 and 1918, engaging with key debates around the adequacy of British generalship and whether or not there was a significant 'learning curve' in terms of the development of operational art during the course of the war. Their findings show how, despite limitations of initiative and innovation amongst the high command, the British army did succeed in developing the effective combined arms warfare necessary for victory in 1918.

This book examines the full range of counterinsurgency intelligence during the Malayan Emergency. It explores the involvement of the Security Service, the Joint Intelligence Committee (Far East), the Malayan Security Service, Special Branch and wider police service, and military intelligence, to examine how British and Malayan authorities tackled the insurgent challenge posed by the Malayan Communist Party. This study assesses the nature of the intelligence apparatus prior to the declaration of emergency in 1948 and considers how officials attempted to reconstruct the intelligence structures in the Far East after the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. These plans were largely based upon the legacy of the Second World War but quickly ran into difficultly because of ill-defined remits and personality clashes. Nevertheless, officials did provide prescient warning of the existential threat posed by the Malayan Communist Party from the earliest days of British reoccupation of Malaya. Once a state of emergency had been declared, officials struggled to find the right combination of methods, strategy and management structures to eliminate the threat posed by the Communist insurgents. This book argues that the development of an effective counterinsurgency intelligence strategy involved many more organisations than just Special Branch. It was a multifaceted, dynamic effort that took far longer and was more problematic than previous accounts suggest. The Emergency remains central to counterinsurgency theory and thus this wide-ranging analysis sheds crucial light not only on the period, but on contemporary doctrine and security practices today.

Gabriel examines 18 ancient army systems, examining the organizational structure and weapons employed and the degree to which cultural values and imperatives shaped the form and application of military force. The tactical doctrines and specific operational capabilities of each army are analyzed to explain how certain technical limitations and societal/cultural imperatives affected the operational capabilities of ancient armies. Cross-cultural and cross-historical connections ground the analysis in the larger historical context of the ancient world.

Sumer and Akkad

The Armies of the Pharaohs

The Hittites

The Mitanni

Armies of the Bible

The Iron Army of Assyria

Chinese Armies

Persia and the Art of Logistics

The Greeks

Carthaginian Armies

Armies of India

Rome

The Iberians, Celts, Germans, and Goths

The Army of Byzantium

The Vikings

The Arab Armies

The Japanese Way of War

The Mongols

The Ottomans

This book also provides an introductory overview of war in the ancient world, from 2500 B.C.E. to 1453 C.E., as well as an examination of the evolution of modern warfare from 1453 to 2002 C.E.

Since the 1980s, the American M1 Abrams series of tanks has been widely regarded as among the finest main battle tanks in the world. This volume is a concise look at the background, development, and Army and Marine operational history of the Abrams from the 1970s to the present. The author, who brings a unique perspective and authority as a former M1A1 tank gunner with the United States Army's 1/104th Cavalry, was granted behind-the-scenes access to photograph the US Army's collection of rare tanks at Fort Benning, Georgia. He also shows the Abrams tank's service in lesser known places-not just Iraq and Afghanistan-such as Cold War Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia, and others. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

A compelling and in-depth history of one of the world's greatest armoured warfare commanders, Hermann Balck (1897-1982). During World War II, Balck commanded panzer troops from the front line and led by example, putting himself in extreme danger when rallying his soldiers to surge forward. He fought battles that were masterpieces of tactical operations, utilizing speed, surprise and a remarkable ability to motivate his men to achieve what they considered to be impossible. We follow his journey through the fields of France, mountains of Greece and steppes of Russia. In Greece, through flair and innovative leadership, his soldiers overcame every obstacle to defeat determined Australian and New Zealand soldiers defending the narrow mountain passes. Balck personally led his men to victory in battles at Platamon Ridge on the Aegean coast and in the Vale of Tempe, before entering Athens. This is also the story of a cultured and complex man with a great love of antiquity and classical literature, who nevertheless willingly fought for Hitler's Third Reich while remaining strangely detached from the horrors around him. The book is the result of extensive research of primary and secondary sources, including Balck's battle reports and first-hand accounts written by Allied soldiers who opposed him, panzer division war diaries and campaign assessments, and declassified Pentagon documents.

When Europe went to war in 1939 the expectation was that this war would see a repeat of the scenes of 1914-18. However, the Wehrmacht was to change all that. Learning the lessons of World War I, the Germans unleashed fast, mobile armoured columns at the Allies, who were unprepared for the swift nature of modern war. Blitzkrieg: Hitler's Lightning War in Photographs is an illustrated record of this awesome new tactic and the success it brought to Nazi Germany in the first few years of the war. Drawing on previously unpublished photographs, many of which have come from the albums of individuals who experienced and took part in the war, Blitzkrieg: Hitler's Lightning War in Photographs presents a unique and visually stunning account of one of history's most infamous wars, telling the story of what happened from the perspective of ordinary soldiers. From Poland in 1939, and France and the Low Countries in 1940, to the North African desert in 1941-2, this is a glimpse into the workings of a highly professional and extremely successful war machine.

Between 1940 and 1945, the Diamond T Motor Car Company supplied just over 50,000 vehicles to the US military, and also to the Allies. Of these, just over 30,000 were heavy 4-ton 6x6 trucks of varying types: cargo, tow truck, pontoon carrier, engineer, and cartographic. The 'Diamond' would serve in all theatres of operations, wherever its robustness and reliability were necessary to complete the mission. Due to its expertise, Diamond T also produced the famous half-track, with more than 10,000 manufactured. All of these models are described in this book by Didier Andres, an expert in the subject. It is illustrated throughout using archival and period photographs and diagrams.

One of the great misconceptions of the Second World War is the notion that the German Army was the epitome of mechanical efficiency--combining lightning speed with awesome military power. R. L. DiNardo argues that, although the elite panzer divisions were indeed formidable units, about 75 percent of the German Army were infantry divisions who relied primarily on the horse for transport. So, DiNardo asks, how modern was the Wehrmacht during World War II? Could it have achieved a higher level of modernity than it actually did? This book takes an unusual approach to the study of the much mythologized German Army. In dealing with horses specifically, DiNardo shows how the German Army was in many ways a throwback to the nineteenth century. How extensive was this antiquated dependence on horses, and was this a conscious decision on the part of the leaders of the German war machine? Did it have an effect on the army's organization and battle strength? What problems did the Germans encounter due to their use of horses? This study answers these questions from a unique perspective and will be invaluable to military historians, courses in military studies, and the collections in public and academic libraries.

Britain was France's most implacable enemy during the Napoleonic Wars yet was able to resist the need for conscription to fill the ranks of its army and sustain Wellington's campaigns in Portugal and Spain. This new study explains how the men were found to replenish Wellington's army, and the consequences on Britain's government, army and society.

'A magnificent story, brilliantly told. Read it!' ANTHONY HOROWITZ SIX GENTLEMEN, ONE GOAL - THE DESTRUCTION OF HITLER'S WAR MACHINE. In the spring of 1939, a top secret organisation was founded in London: its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler's war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was to prove every bit as extraordinary as the six gentlemen who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who invented a lethal bomb. Another, William Fairbairn, was the world's leading expert in silent killing. Led by dapper Scotsman Colin Gubbins, and aided by a group of formidable women, these six men and their sabotage attacks single-handedly changed the course of the war. 'Terrific . . . a great read' IAN HISLOP 'Could not be faster-moving or more exciting' LITERARY REVIEW Previously published in hardback as The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

A unique and vivid first hand account of a young soldier, one of the millions who fought in World War I. Walter Williams volunteered at age fifteen and after completing his initial training in Shrewsbury, passed through the notorious training camp at Etaples before being plunged into the horrors of trench warfare. He fought in some of the major battles of the war including Passchendaele, the Somme and Vimy Ridge - and was badly wounded during the final attack on the Hindenburg line in September 1918, when he was hit by machine-gun fire from an enemy plane. After spending some months in a French hospital in Dieppe, he was repatriated to England where he made a full recovery. Walter's story was captured on an ancient reel-to-reel tape recorder during long conversations with his two nephews, Michael and Derek, who went on to research and verify the events he described before producing this remarkable story. Walter died in 1998, by which time he was one of the last veterans of World War I.

The history of the Scouts & Raiders of World War II is the story of the original ancestors of today's elite SEAL teams. As the Navy's first special warfare commandos these highly trained and skilled officer/enlisted boat crews conducted pre-assault recons of landing beaches, hydrographic recons, marked assault beaches, and guided in assault waves from 36-foot Scout boats, rubber boats, and kayaks at North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Southern France, and Normandy, earning numerous decorations for heroism, including 8 Navy Crosses. In the Mediterranean, S&Rs trained elite units such as Rangers and the 1st Special Service Force, and were assigned to Special Operations Task Group 80.4 and the Adriatic Special Operations Group, working with Allied units supporting Tito's partisans.

In the Pacific, S&Rs served as Scout Intelligence Officers, Amphibious Scouts, Beachmasters, and with Underwater Demolition Teams with 5th and 7th Amphibious Forces from Kwajalein to Okinawa and in the Philippines campaign. They served in Admiral Milton Miles' U.S. Naval Group, China, training Nationalist Chinese guerrillas, participating in raids and ambushes and conducting behind-the-lines overland recons, disguised as coolies to escape detection by Japanese forces. Highly trained, skilled and brave, the Scouts & Raiders were the Navy's first special warfare commandos. This book will be useful for anyone interested in military/naval history, amphibious operations and special warfare. It tells, for the first time, the story of the Scouts & Raiders, a unique World War II unit.

'Outstanding ... combines a glimpse behind the security screens with a sharp analysis of the real global insecurities - growing inequality and unsustainability' - New Internationalist Written in the late 1990s, Losing Control was years, if not decades, ahead of its time, predicting the 9/11 attacks, a seemingly endless war on terror and the relentless increase in revolts from the margins and bitter opposition to wealthy elites. Now, more than two decades later and in an era of pandemics, climate breakdown and potential further military activity in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Paul Rogers has revised and expanded the original analysis, pointing to the 2030s and '40s as the decades that will see a showdown between a bitter, environmentally wrecked and deeply insecure world and a possible world order rooted in justice and peace.

'Outstanding ... combines a glimpse behind the security screens with a sharp analysis of the real global insecurities - growing inequality and unsustainability' - New Internationalist Written in the late 1990s, Losing Control was years, if not decades, ahead of its time, predicting the 9/11 attacks, a seemingly endless war on terror and the relentless increase in revolts from the margins and bitter opposition to wealthy elites. Now, more than two decades later and in an era of pandemics, climate breakdown and potential further military activity in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Paul Rogers has revised and expanded the original analysis, pointing to the 2030s and '40s as the decades that will see a showdown between a bitter, environmentally wrecked and deeply insecure world and a possible world order rooted in justice and peace.

The first dedicated examination of Alexander the Great’s final battle and acknowledged tactical masterpiece.

In the years that followed Alexander the Great’s victory at Gaugamela on 1 October 331 BC, his Macedonian and Greek army fought a truly ‘Herculean’ series of campaigns in what is today Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. But it was in the Indus Valley, on the banks of the Hydaspes River (known today as the Jhelum) in 326 BC that Alexander would fight his last major battle against King Poros.

Using detailed maps and 3D diagrams, this beautifully illustrated work shows how Alexander used feints and deception to transport a select force from his army across the swollen River Hydaspes without attracting the enemy’s attention, allowing his troops the crucial element of surprise. Battlescene artworks and photographs reveal the fascinating array of forces that clashed in the battle, including Indian war elephants and chariots, and horse archers and phalanx formations. Also examined are the differences in weaponry and armour between the opposing sides, which would prove crucial to the outcome. Although a tactical masterpiece, the Hydaspes was the closest that Alexander the Great came to defeat, and was one of the costliest battles fought by his near-exhausted army.

Fully illustrated, this enthralling study explores how the Vandals in North Africa attempted to defend their kingdom against the resurgent Byzantine Empire during 533-36. In AD 533, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I launched the first of his campaigns to reconquer the Western Roman Empire. This effort began in North Africa (modern Algeria and Tunisia), targeting the Vandal kingdom established there a century earlier, which also included Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands. Featuring full-colour artwork and mapping alongside carefully chosen archive illustrations, this book shows how the Byzantine general Belisarius established his formidable reputation in the lightning-fast campaign that ensued, exploring the origins, tactics and reputation of the two sides' forces as they fought for control of North Africa. The landing of Belisarius' forces took the Vandal king, Gelimer, completely by surprise; in September 533 the two sides met in battle near Carthage in an encounter known to posterity as Ad Decimum, with Gelimer ambitiously attempting to trap Belisarius' forces as they advanced. In December, the two sides fought again in a momentous clash at Tricamarum, where the fate of Gelimer's regime would be determined. A third battle ensued in 536, when the rebel Stotzas' Byzantine and Vandal troops confronted Belisarius' forces, the outcome sealing the Byzantine general's standing as the foremost soldier of his age. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive illustrations and photographs, this vivid account compares and assesses the two sides' fighting men as they vied for supremacy in North Africa.