In 1945, John Randall was the first Allied officer to enter Bergen-Belsen - the concentration camp that would reveal the horrors of the Holocaust to the world. Randall was one of that league of extraordinary gentlemen handpicked for suicidally dangerous missions behind enemy lines in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany throughout the Second World War. He was a man of his class and of his times. He hated the Germans, liked the French and was unimpressed by the Americans and the Arabs. He was an outrageous flirt, as might be expected of a man who served in Phantom alongside film stars David Niven and Hugh Williams. He played rugby with Paddy Mayne, the larger-than-life colonel of the SAS and winner of four DSOs. He pushed Randolph Churchill, son of the Prime Minister, out of an aeroplane. He wined and dined in nightclubs as part of the generation that lived for each day because they might not see another. This extraordinary true story, partly based on previously unpublished diaries, presents a different slant on that mighty war through the eyes of a restless young man eager for action and adventure.

Prelude to Berlin: The Red Army's Offensive Operations in Poland and Eastern Germany, 1945, offers a panoramic view of the Soviet strategic offensives north of the Carpathians in the winter of 1945. During the course of this offensive the Red Army broke through the German defences in Poland and East Prussia and eventually occupied all of Germany east of the Oder River. The book consists primarily of articles that appeared in various military journals during the first decade after the war. The General Staff's directorate charged with studying the war experience published these studies, although there are other sources as well. A particular highlight of these is a personal memoir that offers a rare insight into Soviet strategic planning for the winter-spring 1945 campaign. Also featured are documents relating to the operational-strategic conduct of the various operations, which were compiled and published after the fall of the Soviet Union. The book is divided into several parts, corresponding to the operations conducted. These include the Vistula-Oder operation by the First Belorussian and First Ukrainian Fronts out of their respective Vistula bridgeheads. This gigantic operation, involving over a million men and several thousand tanks, artillery and other weapons sliced through the German defences and, in a single leap, advanced the front to the Oder River, less than 100 kilometres from Berlin, from which they launched their final assault on the Reich in April. Equally impressive was the Second and Third Belorussian Fronts'offensive into Germany's East Prussian citadel. This operation helped to clear the flank further to the south and exacted a long-awaited revenge for the Russian Army's defeat here in 1914. This effort cut off the German forces in East Prussia and concluded with an effort to clear the flanks in Pomerania and the storming of the East Prussian capital of Konigsberg in April. The study also examines in considerable detail the First Ukrainian Front's Upper and Lower Silesian operations of February-March 1945. These operations cleared the army's flanks in the south and deprived Germany of one of its last major industrial and agricultural areas.

Some Southern generals, like Lee and Jackson, have stood the test of time, celebrated in their place in history. And then there are generals like John Bell Hood, reviled and ridiculed by generations of Civil War historians as one of the inglorious architects of the Confederate disgrace in the Western Theater. The time has come to rethink this long-held notion, argues Brian Miller, in his comprehensive new biography, John Bell Hood and the Fight for Civil War Memory, and to reassess John Bell Hood as a man, a myth, and a memory. In this first biography of the general in more than twenty years, Miller offers a new, original perspective, directly challenging those historians who have pointed to Hood's perceived personality flaws, his alleged abuse of painkillers, and other unsubstantiated claims as proof of his incompetence as a military leader. This book takes into account Hood's entire life-as a student at West Point, his meteoric rise and fall as a soldier and Civil War commander, and his career as a successful postwar businessman. In many ways, Hood represents a typical southern man, consumed by personal and societal definitions of manhood that were threatened by amputation and preserved and reconstructed by Civil War memory. Miller consults an extensive variety of sources, explaining not only what Hood did but also the environment in which he lived and how it affected him. What emerges is a more nuanced, balanced portrait, unfettered by the one-sided perceptions of previous historical narratives. It gives Hood the fair treatment he has been denied for far too long. By looking at Hood's formative years, his wartime experiences, and his postwar struggles to preserve his good name, this book opens up a provocative new perspective on the life of this controversial figure.

Cady Hoyte, like many other young lads of his generation, proudly joined the army in 1915 to fight for his King and Country. From the Warwickshire town of Nuneaton, he joined the Warwickshire Yeomanry as a gunner in the Machine Gun Corps and quickly found that army life made no concessions for an eager young 19 year old. Never having ridden a horse before, he develops a relationship with the horses, which made it all the harder when he had to say farewell and leave them behind to sail aboard the stricken ship, the Leasowe Castle, to fight in the trenches of France. Written with humour, Cady's diary gives a detailed account of the daily struggles and constant dangers of army life in the First World War without ever losing sight of his respect for human life.

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 unputdownable and action-packed story of Ancient Rome.Correus and Flavius are half-brothers, sons of a brilliant general. One, son of a slave, is a born warrior destined to excel. The other, a nobleman by birth, must struggle relentlessly to succeed. When they both join the Centuriate, a position Flavius has always known he will inherit, and one that Correus has long coveted, together they face the brutal reality of war. Fighting German barbarians will prove dangerous, not only to their bodies, but to their souls as well... The Centurions is an epic Roman adventure, perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.

Several factors delayed and greatly hampered the development of an Italian medium tank during World War II. The first was the strategic stance of the country, focussed on a war against neighbouring countries such as France and Yugoslavia, and ill-prepared for a war in the Western Desert. Since these European countries bordered with Italy in mountainous areas, light tanks were preferred as these were deemed much more suitable for the narrow roads and bridges of the Alps. Furthermore, development was hampered by the limited number of Italian industries, whose production was also heavily fragmented. All these factors delayed the development of the first prototype of an Italian medium tank - the M 11 - which would only appear in 1937 and did not enter production until 1939. Although technically inferior to their German and Allied counterparts in 1941-43, the Italian M tanks proved to be quite effective when used by experienced crews with adequate combat tactics. In fact, their major shortcoming actually proved to be their limited production figures. While production was limited, innovation was not and, between 1941 and 1943, several experiments were carried out on the Italian tanks that produced interesting prototypes such as the anti-aircraft semovente.

Sturmgeschutz III was originally designed as an assault weapon, but as war progressed it was increasingly used in a defensive role and evolved into an assault gun and tank destroyer. By 1943 its main role was providing anti-tank support to the units in its area of operation. This consequently led to many StuGs being destroyed in battle. Nonetheless they were very successful as tank killers and destroyed, among others, many bunkers, pillboxes and other defences.The StuG was not considered to be a true tank because it lacked a turret. The gun was mounded directly in the hull, in a casemate-style fashion, with a low profile to reduce vehicle heights, and had a limited lateral traverse of a few degrees in either direction. Thus, the entire vehicle had to be turned in order to acquire targets. Omitting the turret made production much simpler and less costly, enabling greater numbers to be built. Its significantly shorter vertical profile as compared to contemporary tanks made the StuG more difficult to hit.Most assault guns were mounted on the chassis of a Panzer III or Panzer IV, with the resultant model being called either a StuG III or StuG IV respectively. The StuG was one of the most effective tracked vehicles of World War II, and over 10,000 of them were eventually produced.During the course of the war StuG III assault guns were issued to Sturmartillerie Batteries, Sturmgeschutz Abteilungen, Sturmgeschutz Brigades, Sturmartillerie Batteries, Ersatz (Reserve), Abteilungen and Funklenk (Remote Control) Companies. StuG III assault guns served on all fronts of WWII until the end of the war.

Fascist Italy's ultimate defeat was foreordained. It was a pygmy among giants, and Hitler's failure to destroy the Soviet Union in 1941 doomed all three Axis powers. But Italy's defeat was unique; the only asset that it conquered - briefly - with its own unaided forces in the entire Second World War was a dusty and useless corner of Africa, British Somaliland. And Italy's forces dissolved in 1943 almost without resistance, in stark contrast to the grim fight to the last cartridge of Hitler's army or the fanatical faithfulness unto death of the troops of Imperial Japan. This book tries to understand why the Italian armed forces and Fascist regime were so remarkably ineffective at an activity - war - central to their existence. It approaches the issue above all from the perspective of military culture, through analysis of the services' failure to imagine modern warfare and through a topical structure that offers a social-cultural, political, military-economic, strategic, operational, and tactical cross-section of the war effort.

The Allies' M10 Tank Destroyer and the Germans' Sturmgeschutz (StuG) lll were the unsung workhorses of the northwest European battlefields of 1944-45. While their mission was not principally fighting one another, their widespread use ensured their frequent encounters, from the Normandy Bocage, to the rubble-strewn streets of Aachen. The StuG lll was the quintessential assault gun, a low-slung, heavily armoured, turret-less vehicle intended to provide direct fire support for infantry formations, whilst the M10 3in Gun Motor Carriage was originally developed as a tank destroyer. However, by 1944 the 3in gun proved ineffectual against the most thickly armored German tanks, and was consequently relegated to infantry support too. Widely deployed in roles their designers had not envisaged, these two armoured fighting vehicles clashed repeatedly during the 11-month campaign, which saw the Allies advance from Normandy to the heart of the Reich. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this is the story of their confrontation at the height of World War ll.

Fighting the People's War is an unprecedented, panoramic history of the 'citizen armies' of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, the core of the British and Commonwealth armies in the Second World War. Drawing on new sources to reveal the true wartime experience of the ordinary rank and file, Jonathan Fennell fundamentally challenges our understanding of the War and of the relationship between conflict and socio-political change. He uncovers how fractures on the home front had profound implications for the performance of the British and Commonwealth armies and he traces how soldiers' political beliefs, many of which emerged as a consequence of their combat experience, proved instrumental to the socio-political changes of the postwar era. Fighting the People's War transforms our understanding of how the great battles were won and lost as well as how the postwar societies were forged.

In World War II a number of German Army units and divisions were classed as elites, and were distinguished by special insignia of various kinds. For some this status was simply a matter of lineage - e.g. the Infantry Regiment 'List', which traced its identity to the Bavarian unit with which Hitler had served in World War I. Some, like the 'Grossdeutschland' and Panzer-Lehr divisions, were raised from particularly high grade personnel. Other titles honoured extraordinary battlefield exploits or heroic sacrifice, like the 'Brandenburg' and 'Hoch und Deutschmeister' divisions. This fact-packed introduction to these famous units is illustrated with rare photographs and detailed colour plates.

Keenie Meenie Services - the most powerful mercenary company you've never heard of - was involved in war crimes around the world from Sri Lanka to Nicaragua for which its shadowy directors have never been held accountable. Like its mysterious name, Keenie Meenie Services escaped definition and to this day has evaded sanctions. Now explosive new evidence - only recently declassified - exposes the extent of these war crimes, and the British government's tacit support for the company's operations. Including testimonies from SAS veterans, spy chiefs and diplomats, we hear from key figures battle-hardened by the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Iranian Embassy siege. Investigative journalist Phil Miller asks, who were these mercenaries: heroes, terrorists, freedom fighters or war criminals? This book presents the first ever comprehensive case against Keenie Meenie Services, providing long overdue evidence on the crimes of the people who make a killing from killing.

Fighting the People's War is an unprecedented, panoramic history of the 'citizen armies' of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, the core of the British and Commonwealth armies in the Second World War. Drawing on new sources to reveal the true wartime experience of the ordinary rank and file, Jonathan Fennell fundamentally challenges our understanding of the War and of the relationship between conflict and socio-political change. He uncovers how fractures on the home front had profound implications for the performance of the British and Commonwealth armies and he traces how soldiers' political beliefs, many of which emerged as a consequence of their combat experience, proved instrumental to the socio-political changes of the postwar era. Fighting the People's War transforms our understanding of how the great battles were won and lost as well as how the postwar societies were forged.

From internationally renowned psychologist Dr. Arnold Lazarus, this book presents simple yet powerful imagery techniques that can help you greatly enhance your quality of life--by harnessing the power of your own mind. Dr. Lazarus draws on decades of research and clinical experience to provide new insights into common psychological problems and practical guidance for overcoming them. Whether used on their own or in conjunction with therapy, the easy-to-learn procedures described in this book have helped countless people:
*Manage fear, anxiety, anger, and depression
*Break free of bad habits, such as smoking and overeating
*Build more pleasurable relationships
*Improve work performance and creativity
*Communicate better and feel more confident
*Overcome tension headaches, insomnia, and more

The epic story of how the Second World War was won.On 4 January 1945, General 'Blood and Guts' Patton confided gloomily to his diary, 'We can still lose the war.' The Nazis were attacking in Eastern France, Luxembourg and Belgium. General Eisenhower's allied armies had lost over 300,000 men in battle (with a similar number of non-battle casualties) and they were still in the same positions they had first captured three months before. Would the German will to resist never be broken? Veteran military historian Charles Whiting assembled individual stories from the frontline as the war entered its last bloody, but ultimately victorious phase. From material such as diaries, interviews and battalion journals he vividly builds up a picture of the soldiers and combatants. As the greatest conflict of them all came to its epic crescendo, those on the ground knew that paths that lead to glory could also lead to death... Perfect for fans of Anthony Beevor, Richard Overy and Damien Lewis.

The final thrilling tale of the House of Appius Julianus.A new and deadly threat has emerged at the outskirts of the Roman Empire on the Danube, one that threatens to throw the entire region into chaos. Correus, risen to prefect of a cavalry ala on the border, and Flavius, advisor to the emperor, have both attempted to warn the erratic Domitian of the seriousness of this foe, but to no avail. With trouble at home in the form of an irate senator, as well as the impending doom of a devastating military loss, the two brothers must use their accumulated experience, grit and trust in each other to ensure their family's safety, once and for all. The final book in the epic Centurions series, and the first instalment for almost forty years, a moving and powerful adventure, and a must-read for all historical fiction fans, ideal for readers of Conn Iggulden, Rosemary Sutcliff and Simon Scarrow. Praise for Amanda Cockrell'A thrilling Roman adventure' Alex Gough, author of Emperor's Sword 'Amanda Cockrell has the finest sense of history, character, and narrative I've seen since Rosemary Sutcliff' Delia Sherman, author of The Porcelain Dove 'The novel is action-packed and descriptive at the same time, which lends to the successful scenes that the reader can enjoy' Historical Novel Society

George Washington and his Continental Army braving the frigid winter at Valley Forge form an iconic image in the popular history of the American Revolution. Such winter camps, Steven Elliott tells us in Surviving the Winters, were also a critical factor in the waging and winning of the War of Independence. Exploring the inner workings of the Continental Army through the prism of its encampments, this book is the first to show how camp construction and administration played a crucial role in Patriot strategy during the war. As Elliott reminds us, Washington's troops spent only a few days a year in combat. The rest of the time, especially in the winter months, they were engaged in a different sort of battle-against the elements, unfriendly terrain, disease, and hunger. Victory in that more sustained struggle depended on a mastery of camp construction, logistics, and health and hygiene-the components that Elliott considers in his environmental, administrative, and operational investigation of the winter encampments at Middlebrook, Morristown, West Point, New Windsor, and Valley Forge. Beyond the encampments' basic function of sheltering soldiers, his study reveals their importance as a key component of Washington's Fabian strategy: stationed on secure, mountainous terrain close to New York, the camps allowed the Continental commander-in-chief to monitor the enemy but avoid direct engagement, thus neutralizing a numerically superior opponent while husbanding his own strength. Documenting the growth of Washington and his subordinates as military administrators, Surviving the Winters offers a telling new perspective on the commander's generalship during the Revolutionary War. At the same time, the book demonstrates that these winter encampments stand alongside more famous battlefields as sites where American independence was won.

'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.

Selected for the 2019 Commandant's Professional Reading List J. Glenn Gray entered the army as a private in May 1941, having been drafted on the same day he was informed of his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University. He was discharged as a second lieutenant in October 1945, having been awarded a battlefield commission during fighting in France. Gray saw service in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany in a counter-espionage unit. Fourteen years after his discharge, Gray began to reread his war journals and letters in an attempt to find some meaning in his wartime experiences. The result is The Warriors, a philosophical meditation on what warfare does to us and an examination of the reasons soldiers act as they do. Gray explains the attractions of battle—the adrenaline rush, the esprit de corps—and analyzes the many rationalizations made by combat troops to justify their actions. In the end, Gray notes, “War reveals dimensions of human nature both above and below the acceptable standards for humanity.”

Civil War in many areas of Southern Africa has caused human disaster on a huge scale. While Zimbabwe alone has largely escaped this, Mozambique has been reduced to the status of the poorest, most aid-dependent state in Africa and UNITA's war in Angola continues. Abiodun Alao's account of the deep-rooted ethnic and ideological divisions in all three territories explores the ways in which this state of almost permanent instability and conflict emerged during and after the struggle for independence, and the extent to which existing tensions within the region were internationalized and exacerbated during the Cold War. While the most significant element in the conflict was the dominant role of the South African state in its pursuit of proxy wars to advance its own regional interests, Alao argues that South Africa did not on its own create the dissident movements or the conditions of conflict. Pretoria had only to fine-tune some of the existing movements to suit its own purposes. Based on much original research, this book adds a new perspective to our understanding of the formation of the main rebel movements, of their support bases and their transformation into political parties, as well as providing an important account of their relationship with the South African state.

Saul David's All The King's Men is a thrilling history of the British Redcoat from the English Civil War to Waterloo. Between 1660 and 1815 British supremacy on foreign soil was near total. Central to this success was the humble redcoat soldier who showed heroism in battle and stoicism in peace, despite appalling treatment. This is their story: of brutal discipline and inedible food, of loyalty and low pay, of barracks and battlefield - of victory, defeat, life and death. Praise for All The King's Men: 'An extraordinary story, packed with drama, incident and great characters...All The King's Men is all you could hope for...Quite an achievement', Patrick Bishop, Country Life 'A heady mixture of heroism, incompetence, devilish tactics and plain good luck', Sunday Times 'Filled with swashbuckling derring-do, the reek of blood and gunpowder, combined with shrewd analysis of power, war and psychology', Simon Sebag Montefiore Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed books, including The Indian Mutiny: 1857, Zulu and, most recently, Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire. He recently presented 'Bullets, Boots and Bandages' for BBC 4 and is a regular contributor to Radio 4.

It was on 14 June 1944, D+8, that the tanks of the 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps began to disembark on Gold Beach during the Normandy landings. Delayed in going ashore, the regiment's tanks had been sorely missed by the infantry - and consequently the men of the 144th soon found themselves in action. It was the start of a long and bitter campaign that would take them across North West Europe into the heart of Germany. During that advance the regiment took part in a number of important actions. These included Operation Pomegranate (July 1944), Operation Totalize, an innovative night attack which was one of the final steps to breaking out of the Caen bridgehead (7/8 August 1944), the siege and capture of Le Havre, the fighting in Holland during late 1944, the crossing of the Rhine (by which time the regiment had been equipped with amphibious Buffaloes and during which it carried the flag which accompanied the first British tanks to cross the Rhine after the end of the First World War), and the capture of Bremen just before the end of the war in Europe. The author began to investigate the regiment's service through his late father-in-law, Captain R.W. Thorne, who had been officer in it during the war. As well as extensive interviews with him about the regiment and the campaign, this book draws on a variety of contemporary sources - not least of which are the archives of fellow officer Marcus Cunliffe. Cunliffe, who went on to become a distinguished British scholar and author who specialized in American Studies after the war (particularly military and cultural history), had kept a detailed and graphic diary and written a number of lively and informative accounts - all of which are now in the George Washington University in Washington DC. Unsurprisingly, Cunliffe's work features heavily in this publication. Arromanches to the Elbe is a serious contribution to the history of the Second World War. As well as exploring all aspects of army life, such as training and what might be called the social history of an active service unit, this book will appeal to those interested in the campaign in Europe as a whole, the use of tanks and armoured warfare in general, and, of course, the final battles to defeat Hitler's Third Reich.

Peter Crichton seized the outbreak of the Second World War to escape his journalistic job in London. Ever adventurous and somewhat impetuous he quickly transferred regiments to the 4th Queen's Own Hussars who were destined for North Africa. In no time he found himself fighting a desperate and ill-fated rear-guard action in the mountains of Northern Greece. One of only 180, out of 600, of his Regiment to be evacuated, he was soon involved in the brutal battles of Alam Halfa and El Alamein. While the 4th Hussars recovered and re-trained, the Author found time to play polo and fall in love. By a twist of fate, he was ordered to deploy to Yugoslavia where he was attached to Tito's partisans as they fought their way North, island by island, hurrying the Germans' withdrawal. After four and a half years' absence, he reached London on VE Day, 1945, surprised but grateful to be alive, unlike so many of his contemporaries. Although he wrote up his experiences with admirable clarity and modesty, his papers remained unpublished until Robert, his son, decided to bring them to a wider audience. The result is an action-packed and graphic memoir of unusual breadth.

Bushwhackers adds to the growing body of literature that examines the various irregular conflicts that took place during the American Civil War. Author Joseph M. Beilein Jr. looks at the ways in which several different bands of guerrillas across Missouri conducted their war in concert with their house- holds and their female kin who provided logistical support in many forms. Whether noted fighters like Frank James, William Clarke Quantrill, and "Bloody Bill" Anderson, or less well-known figures such as Clifton Holtzclaw and Jim Jackson, Beilein provides a close examination of how these warriors imagined themselves as fighters, offering a brand-new interpretation that gets us closer to seeing how the men and women who participated in the war in Missouri must have understood it. Beilein answers some of the tough questions: Why did men fight as guerrillas? Where did their tactics come from? What were their goals? Why were they so successful? Bushwhackers demonstrates that the guerrilla war in Missouri was not just an opportunity to settle antebellum feuds, nor was it some collective plummet by society into a state of chaotic bloodshed. Rather, the guerrilla war was the only logical response by men and women in Missouri, and one that was more in keeping with their worldview than the conventional warfare of the day. As guerrilla conflicts rage around the world and violence remains closely linked with masculine identity here in America, this look into the past offers timely insight into our modern world and several of its current struggles.