In April 1941, as Churchill strove to counter the German threat to the Balkans, New Zealand troops were hastily committed to combat in the wake of the German invasion of Greece where they would face off against the German Kradschutzen - motorcycle troops. Examining three major encounters in detail with the help of maps and contemporary photographs, this lively study shows how the New Zealanders used all their courage and ingenuity to counter the mobile and well-trained motorcycle forces opposing them in the mountains and plains of Greece and Crete. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon first-hand accounts, this exciting account pits New Zealand's infantrymen against Germany's motorcycle troops at the height of World War II in the Mediterranean theatre, assessing the origins, doctrine and combat performance of both sides.

The book deals with the future of land warfare on the Indian subcontinent. To predict the future is extremely difficult particularly in the field of Warfare. This is due to the fact that wars are impacted by doctrine, technology and people. Also, the introduction of nuclear weapons has made war less frequent and reduced the duration. There are trends which keep changing with the passage of time. Conflicts in the 21st century are short and swift with a combination of effects. Further aspirations of leaders often point towards different military objectives. In such a scenario we could plan at best for a decade and maybe visualise for about 15 years. By and large wars of the future will be conventional, hybrid and would be interstate or with non-state actors. The causes could be territorial or related to historical differences, ideological biases, economic disparity, security and water distribution. Further issues could exacerbate due to impact of climate change, higher rate of population growth of minorities and sectarian or ethnic extremism. The future wars are likely to follow three types. It could be overt, covert and finally outsourced. The future battle space as visualised in the next 15 years would have characteristics which would make it non linear in time and space. Unlike wars of the past they would be swift and would be based on speed. Targets would need to be precisely engaged to avoid collateral damage. Operations would demand jointness between the three services. Further they would be continuous with no pauses. They could be termed as 24x7 operations. In these operations connectivity would play an important part and communications would be available to soldiers, commanders and autonomous weapon systems and vehicles. There would be a need for synergy between air, sea, and outer space while undertaking land warfare. Perception management becomes extremely important as this alone would lead to an effective reorganisation of people. Finally technology would play an important role particularly, the application of artificial intelligence.

In late 1940 a group of five young Australian soldiers set out on a secret mission: one of the Second World War's most daring operations and the first for Britain's legendry Special Operations Executive. Leading a small force of Ethiopian freedom fighters on an epic trek across the harsh African bush from the Sudan, the small incursion force entered Italian-occupied Ethiopia and began waging a guerilla war against the 250,000-strong Italian army. One of these men, Ken Burke, was Duncan McNab's uncle. Using a combination of original research and personal anecdotes, McNab tells the little known story of Mission 101, and how a small group of Australians under British command helped to free a nation.

The presence of women combatants on the battlefield-especially in large numbers-strikes many observers as a notable departure from the historical norm. Yet women have played a significant active role in many contemporary armed rebellions. Over recent decades, numerous resistance movements in many regions of the globe have deployed thousands of female fighters in combat. In Female Fighters, Reed M. Wood explains why some rebel groups deploy women in combat while others exclude women from their ranks, and the strategic implications of this decision. Examining a vast original dataset on female fighters in over 250 rebel organizations, Wood argues rebel groups can gain considerable strategic advantages by including women fighters. Drawing on women increases the pool of available recruits and helps ameliorate resource constraints. Furthermore, the visible presence of female fighters often becomes an important propaganda tool for domestic and international audiences. Images of women combatants help raise a group's visibility, boost local recruitment, and aid the group's efforts to solicit support from transnational actors and diaspora communities. However, Wood finds that, regardless of the wartime resource challenges they face, religious fundamentalist rebels consistently resist utilizing female fighters. A rich, data-driven study, Female Fighters presents a systematic, comprehensive analysis of the impact women's participation has on organized political violence in the modern era.

The importance of regional cooperation is becoming more apparent as the world moves into the third decade of the 21st century. An Army of Influence is a thought-provoking analysis of the Australian Army's capacity to change, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Written by highly regarded historians, strategists and practitioners, this book examines the Australian Army's influence abroad and the lessons it has learnt from its engagement across the Asia-Pacific region. It also explores the challenges facing the Australian Army in the future and provides principles to guide operational, administrative and modernisation planning. Containing full-colour maps and images, An Army of Influence will be of interest to both the wider defence community and general readers. It underscores the importance of maintaining an ongoing presence in the region and engages with history to address the issues facing the Army both now and into the future.

Sd.Kfz. 173 Jagdpanther is a German tank destroyer developed by Krupp and Daimler-Benz. The order was placed in August 1943 and the vehicle entered service in the first months of 1944. It was armed with a very effective anti-tank tank gun. PaK 43 cal. 88 mm. The destroyer's combat compartment was armoured with 40 to 100 mm thick (front plate) armour plates. From January 1944, 415 pieces were produced (at the MIAG, MNH and MBA factories). The vehicle was based on the chassis of the Panther Ausf. G, but it didn't have as many technical problems as the mentioned tank. Due to the favourable power-to-weight ratio, Jagdpanther had good performance and maneuverability. Together with a powerful cannon, which was able to destroy any allied armoured vehicle that time, it made it an extremely effective and dangerous destroyer. Vehicles were used by independent tank destroyer battalions. Jagdpanthers debuted in Normandy in 1944 (within 555th and 654th Panzerjagerabteilung), achieving great successes. Also during the offensive in the Ardennes, the Allies took a toll on them. They appeared on the Eastern Front in the autumn of 1944, effectively fighting all Soviet armoured guns and heavy tanks, including IS-2. The vehicle was produced in two main variants. The early version - designated as G1 - had a smaller yoke that was welded to the hull, a modified engine compartment from the Panther Ausf. A and two driver's visors. In the later version - G2 - the Panther Ausf. G engine compartment was used, one driver's visor and a larger yoke which was bolted to the front plate with screws. There were also many hybrid variants combining the features of both versions. Until September 1944, Jagdpanthers were covered with Zimmerit in the form of characteristic squares, and not the more popular "snakes". Jagdpanthers proved to be the most effective German tank destroyers, but they appeared too late and in too few numbers to significantly influence the course of the war.

Pity the Nation ranks among the classic accounts of war in our time, both as historical document and as an eyewitness testament to human savagery. Written by one of Britain's foremost journalists, this remarkable book combines political analysis and war reporting in an unprecedented way: it is an epic account of the Lebanon conflict by an author who has personally witnessed the carnage of Beirut for over a decade. Fisk's book recounts the details of a terrible war but it also tells a story of betrayal and illusion, of Western blindness that had led inevitably to political and military catastrophe. Updated and revised, Fisk's book gives us a further insight into this troubled part of the world. 'Robert Fisk is one of the outstanding reporters of this generation. As a war correpondent he is unrivalled.' Edward Mortimer, Financial Times

Galloglass, from the Gaelic "gall glaigh" for 'young foreign warriors', were mercenaries from the Western Isles of Scotland who fought in the retinues of Irish magnates from the mid-13th century until the early 17th century. Without question, galloglass are among the most visually impressive warriors of all time: they were sketched by Albrecht D rer, were mentioned by Shakespeare, and were discussed with awe and amazement in the correspondence of all the leading Elizabethan soldiers who served in Ireland. Thousands fought in Ireland, and yet so far there has been only one detailed account of the galloglass, and this work concentrates on the clan and family structures of the galloglass, and not their experience as warriors. This book provides the first detailed military history of these fearsome warriors.

When it first appeared on the battlefield in July 1941, the Soviet T-34 was the best tank in the world - superior even to the latest German tanks. It became the most important tank of the war, a vehicle that was instrumental in the defeat of Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front, and thus helped to bring about the ultimate Allied victory. This is an in-depth examination of this innovative yet simple armoured fighting vehicle that represented a revolutionary leap forward in tank design. As the book makes clear, the T-34/85 had firepower, armour protection and mobility far superior to other tanks then in service. Examining every aspect of the tank's development and service history, including detailed sections on design, armament, powerplant, crew positions and armour, the book contains detailed listings of all the variants produced, their markings, camouflage schemes, and full specifications. Ideal for modellers and tank enthusiasts, The T-34 is an essential guide to this masterpiece of Soviet wartime engineering.

Ellerman Lines was formed by John Reeves Ellerman at the end of the nineteenth century. Ellerman left home at age 14, and at 24 he established J. Ellerman & Co. in London; by 1893, he had been appointed chair of a shipping company. Following the acquisition of various companies, Ellerman Lines Ltd was formed on 22 January 1902, becoming one of the greatest shipping lines in the world. Services were offered to the Mediterranean, India, South America and East and South Africa as the Ellerman group grew and grew. Ellerman Lines traded successfully throughout war and peace, heavily involved in the war effort, until the third quarter of the century, when many countries gained their independence from Britain and 1960s containerisation saw this once great shipping line close for good. Using many previously unpublished photographs illustrating the different types of vessels owned by Ellerman Lines, experienced maritime author Ian Collard turns his attention to the company's history, from its establishment in 1886 until the shipping business was bought by its management in 1985. It was then sold to the Trafalgar House conglomerate, which merged it with its ownership of the Cunard Line to form Cunard-Ellerman in 1987. In 1991 it passed to the Andrew Weir Shipping Group and in 2003 the Mediterranean, Middle East, African, Indian and Pakistan services were acquired by Hamburg Sud and the Ellerman brand was replaced by them exactly two years later.

The Ml Abrams has proved itself to be the finest main battle tank in the World since its introduction into US Army service in 1981. It combines the ultimate balance between firepower, mobility and protection as demonstrated by its superior performance during the two Gulf Wars and in Afghanistan. It routed the Soviet equipment of Saddam Hussein's army and today remains the yardstick by which friends' and foes' MBTs are judged. Its versatility and continual modernisation of weaponry armour and engineering guarantees that the MI Abrams will remain the US Army's spearpoint for years to come. Expert author Michael Green has produced a comprehensive collection of images and highly informed text.

Women, Armies, and Warfare in Early Modern Europe examines the important roles of women who campaigned with armies from 1500 to 1815. This included those notable female individuals who assumed male identities to serve in the ranks, but far more numerous and essential were the formidable women who, as women, marched in the train of armies. While some worked as full-time or part-time prostitutes, they more generally performed a variety of necessary gendered tasks, including laundering, sewing, cooking, and nursing. Early modern armies were always accompanied by women and regarded them as essential to the well-being of the troops. Lynn argues that, before 1650, women were also fundamental to armies because they were integral to the pillage economy that maintained troops in the field.

The armour clashes in May 1940 were the biggest the world had yet seen, as the sweeping German advances of that period came to epitomize Blitzkrieg. The Wehrmacht's Panzer III was well matched by the French Somua S35 tanks, the two representing very different design philosophies and yet both ranking among the best in the world at the time. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned colour artwork, this work draws upon the latest research to provide a definitive analysis of the clash between these two high-quality, cutting-edge tank designs. It describes one of the key duels at the heart of a new type of warfare, in the epic battles at the outset of Hitler's conquest of France and the Low Countries.

The M24 Chaffee was the finest light tank developed by the US during WWII. Utilizing the M24 chassis-developed by Cadillac-the US Army procured a family of fighting vehicles, including the M19 Twin 40 mm Gun Motor Carriage, the M37 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage, and the M41 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage, all of which are covered in this second volume on the Chaffee. While all of these motor carriages were too late to see combat in WWII, all were widely used during the Korean War, with many at the front of the fighting. 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 these vehicles, this iconic tank hunter is explored and its history is explained.

As the war in Europe entered its final months, the world teetered on the edge of a Third World War. While Soviet forces hammered their way into Berlin, Churchill ordered British military planners to prepare the top secret Operation Unthinkable - the plan for an Allied attack on the Soviet Union - on 1 July 1945. Using US, British and Polish forces, the invasion would reclaim Eastern Europe. The controversial plan called for the use of Nazi troops, and there was the spectre of the atomic bomb. Would yet another army make the fatal mistake of heading East? In Churchill's Third World War Jonathan Walker presents a haunting study of the war that so nearly was. He outlines the motivations behind Churchill's plan, the logistics of launching a vast assault against an enemy who had bested Hitler, potential sabotage by Polish communists, and he speculates whether the Allies would have succeeded had the operation gone forward. Well supported by a wide range of primary sources from the Churchill Archives Centre, Sikorski Institute, National Archives and Imperial War Museum, this is a fascinating insight into the upheaval as the Second World War drew to a close and former alliances were shattered. Operation Unthinkable became the blueprint for the Cold War.

The Law of Non-International Armed Conflict brings together and critically analyses the disparate conventional, customary, and soft law relating to non-international armed conflict. All the relevant bodies of international law are considered, including international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and international human rights law. The book traces the changes to the legal framework applicable to non-international armed conflict from ad hoc regulation in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, to systematic regulation through the 1949 Geneva Conventions and 1977 Additional Protocols, to the transformation of the law in the mid-1990s. Armed conflicts ranging from the US civil war, the Algerian War of Independence, and the attempted secession of Biafra, through to the current conflicts in the Colombia, the Philippines, and Sudan are all considered. The identification and analysis of the law is complemented by a consideration of the practice, allowing both violations of, and respect for, the law, to be ascertained. Given that non-international armed conflicts are fought between states and non-state armed groups, or between armed groups, particular attention is paid to the oft-neglected views of armed groups. This is done through an analysis of hundreds of statements, unilateral declarations, internal regulations, and bilateral agreements issued by armed groups. Equivalent material emanating from states parties to conflicts is also considered. The book is thus an essential reference point for the law and practice of non-international armed conflicts.

Commissioned out of Sandhurst in 1943, nineteen-year-old Bill Bellamy joined the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars. Following the Normandy landings in June 1944, he was involved in the great tank battles around the town of Caen, the battle of Mont Pincon, and then the Allied breakout into Belgium. There followed the advance into Holland and onwards to the River Maas. In October 1944, during this phase of the fighting, he was awarded an immediate Military Cross for bravery during the battle to secure the Dutch village of Doornhoek. In the spring of 1945, the 8th Hussars thrust into Germany and on towards Hamburg, eventually winding up at the very heart of Hitler's Reich, Berlin.

Bill kept diaries and notes of his experiences, and shortly after the war he used them to write up a series of articles recounting his part as a junior officer in the hard-fought battles to free Europe from the Nazis.

His accounts of tank fighting in the leafy Normandy bocage at the height of summer, or in the iron-hard fields of Holland in winter, are graphic and compelling. This personal account of a British tank commander in the battles for Normandy and the Low Countries is illustrated with archive and personal photographs, some never previously published.

This book explores the mechanical details and military use of the M911 C-HET and M1070/M1070A1 HETS and their associated trailers. These vehicles are tasked with transporting the US Army's heaviest weapons-the M1 Abrams tank and other armored vehicles. In a departure from previous generations of tank transporters, which were designed especially for this task and built at great expense, the vehicles in this volume utilize numerous components from the civil market in order to lower cost and ease maintenance. The Oshkosh M911 C-HET and the M747 trailer typically used with it are first examined, then the newer M1070, M1070 armored cab conversion, M1070A1, and M1070F and the M1000 trailer used with the M1070-series tractors are studied. These heavy haulers are revealed in outstanding detail in this volume, which features both combat and detail photos. Hundreds of color and black-and-white photos put the reader in, on, over, and under these massive machines.

Expert author Michael Green has compiled a full inventory of the tanks developed and deployed by the Allied armies during the six year war against Nazi Germany and her Axis partners. There were four categories of tank: Light, Medium, Heavy and Super Heavy. Combat experience proved Light tanks (such as the Stuart and T-26) to be ineffective. Medium tanks (the US M4 series, named Sherman by the British, and Russian T-34) soon dominated with their fire power, protection and mobility. The later stages of the War required the Allies to answer the Axis Panther and Tiger tanks with up-gunned and up-armoured second generation M4s, T-34-85s and the Sherman Firefly. Totally new heavy tanks such as the M-26, Pershing, Soviet KV-1 series and the British Centurion only saw action in the final months. Allied Tanks of the Second World War covers all these categories in detail as well as the few super heavy tanks such as the French Char 2C and the TOG. For an informed and highly illustrated work this book has no comparable rival.

DeVries has focused on an intriguing problem, and his detailed analysis of battles provides an important reassessment of the way in which infantry and dismounted cavalry achieved such striking successes. HISTORY His detailed analysis of battles provides an important reassessment of the way in which infantry and dismounted cavalry achieved such striking successes. HISTORY This remarkable study confirms [DeVries's] emergence as one of themajor scholars of his generation. JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY This study departs from the conventional view of the dominance of cavalry in medieval warfare: its objective is to establish the often decisive importance of infantry. Kelly DeVries employs evidence from first-hand accounts - a major feature of this study - to examine the role of the infantry, and the nature of infantry tactics, in nineteen battles fought in England and Europe between 1302 and 1347, in most of which it was the infantry which secured victory. The battles analysed in detail are: Courtrai Arques Mons-en-Pevele Loudon Hill Kephissos Bannockburn Boroughbridge Cassel Dupplin Moor Halidon Hill Laupen Morlaix Staveren Vottem Crecy Neville's Cross, and the infantry ambushes: Morgarten Auberoche La Roche-Derrien.

The German Panzerjager, or Panzerjagertruppe, was one of the most innovative fighting arms of World War II and its story has never properly been told, until now. Many books have focused on an element of the story - the Hetzer, Jagdpanzer, and Jagdpanther - but this two-volume series represents the first time that the whole history of the development and organization of Nazi Germany's anti-tank force has been revealed. This second volume takes up the story in the mid-war years and follows the development of the Panzerjager, describing the innovative new vehicles such as the Ferdinand, Elefant and Nashorn. German Armoured Fighting Vehicle specialist Thomas Anderson also analyses the key role it performed in the War in the Desert and across the Eastern Front, and ultimately in the defence of the Reich itself. Packed with previously unpublished wartime photographs, combat reports, and detailed charts and statistics, this book offers an unparalleled account of this unique arm of the Wehrmacht.

Andrew Thomson rethinks the history of US imperialism, from the Cold War to today, to reveal how paramilitaries, militias, mercenaries, private armies, and contractors have always been central to US-sponsored insurgencies and US counterinsurgent statecraft. Examining a broad range of events from the Bay of Pigs to the occupation of Iraq, and from the Soviet-Afghan war to the ongoing conflict in Syria, Thomson offers an analysis of the evolution of US support for various para-institutional actors or non-state armed forces. He demonstrates how and why militias, mercenaries, and private military companies have increasingly formed a central part of US imperial strategies designed to influence political and economic conditions abroad. Drawing on declassified documents including military training manuals, CIA communiqus, and national security documents, Outsourced Empire reveals new evidence that helps us understand these institutions and their collective role in maintaining global order.

OVER 100 APPROVED BRITISH ARMY CHALLENGES Packed full of puzzles and challenges, this book will help you develop the vital mind-training skills needed for any team player or budding recruit - get ready to tackle logic puzzles, explore mazes and wrestle with problem-solving tests. You'll learn to: Crack codes essential to survival situations Complete complex navigation challenges Put leadership and teamwork skills to the test with essential lateral thinking techniques Strengthen crucial cognitive skills through quizzes and word games Problem-solve under pressure Analyse 'real-life' scenarios, and ask yourself: 'What would I do in this situation?' Teamwork is at the heart of the British Army, and this is the perfect challenge book to enjoy with family and friends - work together or invite some friendly competition!