The original cadre of the later Waffen-SS was formed in March 1933 as the SS Headquarters Guard Berlin. From the first 117 volunteers emerged more than fifty senior SS officers, all of whom received high decorations for bravery in the 38 Waffen-SS divisions that were formed later.

"Exceptional military history worthy of its heroic subject." -Matthew J. Davenport In the vein of Band of Brothers and American Sniper, a riveting history of Alvin York, the World War I legend who killed two dozen Germans and captured more than 100, detailing York's heroics yet also restoring the unsung heroes of his patrol to their rightful place in history-from renowned World War I historian James Carl Nelson. October 8, 1918 was a banner day for heroes of the American Expeditionary Force. Thirteen men performed heroic deeds that would earn them Medals of Honor. Of this group, one man emerged as the single greatest American hero of the Great War: Alvin Cullum York. A poor young farmer from Tennessee, Sergeant York was said to have single-handedly killed two dozen Germans and captured another 132 of the enemy plus thirty-five machine guns before noon on that fateful Day of Valor. York would become an American legend, celebrated in magazines, books, and a blockbuster biopic starring Gary Cooper. The film, Sergeant York, told of a hell-raiser from backwoods Tennessee who had a come-to-Jesus moment, then wrestled with his newfound Christian convictions to become one of the greatest heroes the U.S. Army had ever known. It was a great story-but not the whole story. In this absorbing history, James Carl Nelson unspools, for the first time, the complete story of Alvin York and the events that occurred in the Argonne Forest on that day. Nelson gives voice, in particular, to the sixteen "others" who fought beside York. Hailing from big cities and small towns across the U.S. as well as several foreign countries, these soldiers included a patrician Connecticut farmer whose lineage could be traced back to the American Revolution, a poor runaway from Massachusetts who joined the Army under a false name, and a Polish immigrant who enlisted in hopes of expediting his citizenship. The York Patrol shines a long overdue spotlight on these men and York, and pays homage to their bravery and sacrifice. Illustrated with 25 black-and-white images, The York Patrol is a rousing tale of courage, tragedy, and heroism.

Gunter Horst Beetz was born in Berlin in 1926. Growing up as part of a typical family-his father was a banker, his mother a housewife-he joined the Hitler Youth-somewhat against his wishes-and after a short period manning anti-aircraft guns in Berlin he ultimately found himself in Normandy, fighting the Allies, where he was captured in July 1944. `A Soldier of the Reich: An Autobiography' documents one man's life in Nazi Germany. It examines what it was like to grow up alongside the rise of fascism, exploring the consequences it had on Beetz's life, including what this meant for his relationship with his Jewish girlfriend, Ruth. Beetz also relates his time as an unenthusiastic soldier fighting in Normandy, commenting on the ethics of war, his first sexual encounter with a French prostitute, and life in the sapper battalion with his and his comrades' bungling attempts at front-line soldiery. He was captured in July 1944 and then describes in illuminating detail the life of an ordinary prisoner of war in America. After two years in Pennsylvania he was transferred first for a short period in Belgium, and then to a PoW camp in Ely, England where remained until 1948. Including previously unpublished images from the author's personal collection, this first-hand account explores a perspective rarely acknowledged in discussions of the Second World War: that of an ordinary Wehrmacht soldier, detailing the beliefs and motivations that shaped him as a person.

Japan's invasion of Manchuria in September of 1931 initiated a new phase of brutal occupation and warfare in Asia and the Pacific. It forwarded the project of remaking the Japanese state along technocratic and fascistic lines and creating a self-sufficient Asian bloc centered on Japan and its puppet state of Manchukuo. In Planning for Empire, Janis Mimura traces the origins and evolution of this new order and the ideas and policies of its chief architects, the reform bureaucrats. The reform bureaucrats pursued a radical, authoritarian vision of modern Japan in which public and private spheres were fused, ownership and control of capital were separated, and society was ruled by technocrats. Mimura shifts our attention away from reactionary young officers to state planners-reform bureaucrats, total war officers, new zaibatsu leaders, economists, political scientists, engineers, and labor party leaders. She shows how empire building and war mobilization raised the stature and influence of these middle-class professionals by calling forth new government planning agencies, research bureaus, and think tanks to draft Five Year industrial plans, rationalize industry, mobilize the masses, streamline the bureaucracy, and manage big business. Deftly examining the political battles and compromises of Japanese technocrats in their bid for political power and Asian hegemony, Planning for Empire offers a new perspective on Japanese fascism by revealing its modern roots in the close interaction of technology and right-wing ideology.

The East of England, particularly Suffolk, became a new home for thousands of American airmen during the Second World War. After starting to arrive in 1942, there were over 10,000 in the country by 1943. The largest concentration was in Suffolk, which had more USA airfields than any other English county. Their arrival was called the 'Friendly Invasion' as they suddenly found themselves in the middle of the East Anglian countryside. The Americans brought with them chewing gum, coke and peanut butter, and introduced the big band sounds and jitterbugging dancing. In return the British taught the GI's the gentle art of darts and dominos, when the newcomers ventured into the sacred English public houses. This book examines the meeting of two cultures, while stories are related of the aircraft victories and losses, plus accidents which sometimes shook the countryside. Missions by the bombers and fighters of the USAAF are included to show what desperate times these were for airmen and country folk of Suffolk.

For Life's Everyday Battles - The first official self-improvement and leadership book from the British Army's world-leading Sandhurst Academy.

Winston Churchill never surrendered.
Prince Harry has fought for mental health around the world.
Tobias Ellwood risked his life to save others during the Westminster terrorist attack.
Tim Peake became Britain's first astronaut on the International Space Station.
Nicola Wetherill led the first all-female expedition across the Antarctic ice.
Ed Withey even organized his wedding with military precision.

The one thing all of these individuals have in common? Their world-class Sandhurst training.

Stand Up Straight applies 10 simple but transformative lessons that every officer is taught during their time at the world-famous military academy. Modern and counter-intuitive, with its lessons ranging from making your bed and ironing your shirt to achieving discipline, emotional intelligence, resilience and fast decision-making under pressure, the book draws on first-hand experiences from war as well as the leadership lessons taught at Sandhurst.

The result is a groundbreaking personal development book that can easily be applied to every aspect of civilian life - work, home, confidence, anxiety, family and friends.

Initially British officials of the American Revolutionary War were reluctant to accept the offers of loyal subjects to form fighting units but eventually the potential of a Provincial corps was realized. Yet they never received the whole-hearted support of the British regular army and this was a factor in their eventual defeat. Nonetheless the Provincial Corps served with distinction - even fighting against the Spanish in Nicaragua and the Bahamas - and some remained in service for several more years by relocating to Canada. This book examines their experiences in this continental conflict and details their uniforms and equipment.

A gloriously illustrated volume that looks at the remarkable armor of a key Habsburg commander and its relationship to contemporary Renaissance fashion This sumptuously illustrated book celebrates a curious masterpiece of German Renaissance art--the Landsknecht armor of Wilhelm von Rogendorf (1523). Recently conserved to its original glory, this magnificent suit of armor, made for a trusted courtier, diplomat, and commander of infantry units for the Habsburgs, deceives the eye: the steel sleeves drape in graceful folds, with cuts in the surface, suggesting the armor is made from cloth rather than metal. The author of this fascinating volume explores the question: why does the armor look this way? Stefan Krause delves back five centuries to the political, social, and cultural context in which von Rogendorf lived. Among other key venues in the Holy Roman Empire, this story takes the reader to the court of Emperor Charles V in Spain and to Augsburg, the leading center of armor making, where Rogendorf was introduced to the court armorer of Charles V, Kolman Helmschmid (1471-1532). Helmschmid was famous for his inventive and masterfully sculptured works, and this book elaborates on his unique contributions to the history of armor, and how and why von Rogendorf's suit was informed by contemporary fashion. Distributed for the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

This is the first book ever to present the authentic ninja techniques in a highly accessible, illustrated 'how to' format. The shadowy figure of the ninja – expert commando, secret agent, maverick who operates outside social norms – continues to exert fascination in the West, yet much of what is presented as ninja fact today is distorted or wrong. Drawing on the scrolls created by historical Japanese ninjas (or shinobi, as they were then known), this book offers the real ninja teachings in 150 easy-to-follow, illustrated lessons designed to draw contemporary students of ninja straight into the world of these skilled spy-commandos. The truth about the ninja is so much more complex and intriguing than the Hollywood clichés we know today. We may think, for example, of a ninja as being always garbed in black and fighting with 'throwing stars' but in fact, a ninja had clothes in different colours to serve as disguises for different times of day, and their arsenal of weaponry could include anything from poison, poison gas, pepper spray and fire-creating tools to swords, spears and knives (but no throwing stars). The 150 lessons in this book cover all the basics of ninja warcraft, including clever ideas for infiltrating an enemy compound (from wearing 'silent sandals' to faking passes and passwords), tactics for hiding and retreat (in the racoon dog retreat, a ninja will crouch low and halt, allowing the pursuer to collide with him at speed, whereupon the agent kills his enemy), and ways of crossing marshes and water (for example, with special shoes made of boards, or using a foldaway floating seat). The description is made all the more vivid by step-by-step photographs of the fighting techniques, diagrams outlining military tactics and beautiful samples of Japanese calligraphy.

Forced to contend with unprecedented levels of psychological trauma during World War II, the United States military began sponsoring a series of nontheatrical films designed to educate and even rehabilitate soldiers and civilians alike. Traumatic Imprints traces the development of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic approaches to wartime trauma by the United States military, along with links to formal and narrative developments in military and civilian filmmaking. Offering close readings of a series of films alongside analysis of period scholarship in psychiatry and bolstered by research in trauma theory and documentary studies, Noah Tsika argues that trauma was foundational in postwar American culture. Examining wartime and postwar debates about the use of cinema as a vehicle for studying, publicizing, and even what has been termed "working through" war trauma, this book is an original contribution to scholarship on the military-industrial complex.

In the rolling hills of the Limburg Province, near the village of Margraten, they slowly loom up, row after row: thousands of white marble crosses and Stars of David. They mark the final resting place of American soldiers who died fighting to liberate the Netherlands during World War II. While the headstones provide the names and ages of those lost, they cannot tell us who these soldiers were, what their lives were like, or who they left behind. Nor can the peace and quiet at the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands reflect the harrowing experience and violent final moments of the men and women who forever rest here. Through hundreds of personal photographs and more than 250 stories, The Faces of Margraten gives these soldiers faces and voices again, telling not only the history of World War II and the ending of the German occupation of the Netherlands, but also revealing how and why the Dutch people have never forgotten their liberators. Concluding with a list of all the soldiers' names, this commemorative book stands as a testament to the service and sacrifice of the more than 10,000 Americans buried or memorialized as missing in Margraten.

Using a wealth of contemporary sources, this book narrates the story of the Liverpool Rifles in the Great War from their mobilisation in August 1914 to their return to Liverpool in 1919, each day of their active service in France and Belgium detailed. The role played by 3,000 individuals, including every single casualty---wounded or killed---is covered in the narrative and in many cases, the exact position where this happened. The battalion served a tough apprenticeship in the Second Battle of Ypres, losing over 40 per cent casualties in their first five months overseas. By the time the battalion left the Somme in September 1916, their casualties figures exceeded the number who sailed to France in 1915. The ferocious struggle in the Third Battle of Ypres and their epic defensive actions at Little Priel Farm and Givenchy are described down to individual platoon level; twenty-one detailed sketch maps allowing the reader to follow the action. Uniquely, the battalion roll in the appendices includes every officer and man who served with the battalion overseas, many of whom do not feature in the Medal Rolls.

The nature of the military institution in Brazil, its relations with civilian governments up to 1964, and its use of power since the coup of that year are examined by Alfred Stepan. Throughout his study, while looking at the Brazilian experience, he tests and reformulates implicit and explicit models, propositions, and middle-range hypotheses in the literature of civil-military relations and in political development theory. Professor Stepan's analysis suggests that many of the expectations and hypotheses held by theoreticians and policymakers about the capabilities of the military in modernization need to be seriously qualified. His discussion of the socio-economic origins and career patterns of the officer corps and of the ideological changes within the Brazilian army makes extensive and systematic use of previously unexploited data: Brazilian military academy files, editorials, interviews with military and civilian leaders. Throughout, the experiences of Asian and African countries are compared to that of Brazil, thus providing a wide comparative framework. Contents: PART I: The Military in Politics: The Institutional Background. 1. Military Organizational Unity and National Orientation: Hypotheses and Qualifications. 2. The Size of the Military: Its Relevance for Political Behavior. 3. Social Origins and Internal Organization of the Officer Corps: Their Political Significance. PART II: The "Moderating Pattern" of Civil-Military Relations: Brazil, 1945-1964. 4. Civilian Aspects of the "Moderating Pattern." 5. The Functioning of the "Moderating Pattern"--A Comparative Analysis of Five Coups, 1945-1964. PART III: The Breakdown of the "Moderating Pattern" of Civil-Military Relations and the Emergence of Military Rule. 6. The Growing Sense of Crisis in the Regime, 1961-1964: Its Impact on the "Moderating Pattern." 7. The Impact of Political and Economic Crises on the Military: Growth of Institutional Fears, 1961-1964. 8. The Impact of Political and Economic Crises on the Military: The Escola Superior de Guerra and the Development of a New Military Ideology. 9. The Assumption of Power--The Revolution of 1964. PART IV: The Brazilian Military in Power, 1964-1968: A Case Study of the Political Problems of Military Government. 10. The Military in Power: First Political Decisions and Problems. 11. Military Unity and Military Succession: An Elite Analysis of the Castello Branco Government. 12. The Military as an Institution Versus the Military as Government. Index. Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The challenges facing military veterans who return to civilian life in the United States are persistent and well documented. But for all the political outcry and attempts to improve military members' readjustments, veterans of all service eras face formidable obstacles related to mental health, substance abuse, employment, and - most damningly - homelessness. Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans synthesizes the new glut of research on veteran homelessness - geographic trends, root causes, effective and ineffective interventions to mitigate it - in a format that provides a needed reference as this public health fight continues to be fought. Codifying the data and research from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) campaign to end veteran homelessness, psychologist Jack Tsai links disparate lines of research to produce an advanced and elegant resource on a defining social issue of our time.

Authoritative illustrated analysis of the history of the military Special Forces units of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation. When the shadowy, notorious Spetsnaz were first formed, they drew on a long Soviet tradition of elite, behind-the-lines commando forces from World War II and even earlier. Throughout the 1960s-70s they were instrumental both in projecting Soviet power in the Third World and in suppressing resistance within the Warsaw pact. As a powerful, but mysterious tool of a world superpower, the Spetsnaz have inevitably become the focus of many 'tall tales' in the West. In this book, a peerless authority on Russia's military Special Forces debunks several of these myths, uncovering truths that are often even more remarkable. Since the chaotic dissolution of the USSR and the two Chechen Wars, Russian forces have seen increasing modernization, involving them ever more in power-projection, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism and the Spetsnaz have been deployed as a spearhead in virtually all of these operations. This fully illustrated book packed with details such as orders-of-battle, equipment and operational doctrine offers a unique, absorbing guide to the secrets of the Spetsnaz, their most noteworthy missions and personalities.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In The Heart of the Sea and Mayflower comes a surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution, and the tragic relationship between George Washington and Benedict Arnold. "May be one of the greatest what-if books of the age--a volume that turns one of America's best-known narratives on its head."--Boston Globe "Clear and insightful, it consolidates his reputation as one of America's foremost practitioners of narrative nonfiction."--Wall Street Journal In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental Army under an unsure George Washington (who had never commanded a large force in battle) evacuates New York after a devastating defeat by the British Army. Three weeks later, near the Canadian border, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeds in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have ended the war. Four years later, as the book ends, Washington has vanquished his demons and Arnold has fled to the enemy after a foiled attempt to surrender the American fortress at West Point to the British. After four years of war, America is forced to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from within. Valiant Ambition is a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation. The focus is on loyalty and personal integrity, evoking a Shakespearean tragedy that unfolds in the key relationship of Washington and Arnold, who is an impulsive but sympathetic hero whose misfortunes at the hands of self-serving politicians fatally destroy his faith in the legitimacy of the rebellion. As a country wary of tyrants suddenly must figure out how it should be led, Washington's unmatched ability to rise above the petty politics of his time enables him to win the war that really matters.

In "Buying Military Transformation," Peter Dombrowski and Eugene Gholz analyze the United States military's ongoing effort to capitalize on information technology. New ideas about military doctrine derived from comparisons to Internet Age business practices can be implemented only if the military buys technologically innovative weapons systems. "Buying Military Transformation" examines how political and military leaders work with the defense industry to develop the small ships, unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced communications equipment, and systems-of-systems integration that will enable the new military format.

Dombrowski and Gholz's analysis integrates the political relationship between the defense industry and Congress, the bureaucratic relationship between the firms and the military services, and the technical capabilities of different types of businesses. Many government officials and analysts believe that only entrepreneurial start-up firms or leaders in commercial information technology markets can produce the new, network-oriented military equipment. But Dombrowski and Gholz find that the existing defense industry will be best able to lead military-technology development, even for equipment modeled on the civilian Internet. The U.S. government is already spending billions of dollars each year on its "military transformation" program-money that could be easily misdirected and wasted if policymakers spend it on the wrong projects or work with the wrong firms.

In addition to this practical implication, "Buying Military Transformation" offers key lessons for the theory of "Revolutions in Military Affairs." A series of military analysts have argued that major social and economic changes, like the shift from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age, inherently force related changes in the military. "Buying Military Transformation" undermines this technologically determinist claim: commercial innovation does not directly determine military innovation; instead, political leadership and military organizations choose the trajectory of defense investment. Militaries should invest in new technology in response to strategic threats and military leaders' professional judgments about the equipment needed to improve military effectiveness. Commercial technological progress by itself does not generate an imperative for military transformation.

Clear, cogent, and engaging, "Buying Military Transformation" is essential reading for journalists, legislators, policymakers, and scholars.

In the years between 31 BC and AD 500 the Romans carved out a mighty empire stretching from Britain to the deserts of North Africa. The men who spearheaded this expansion were the centurions, the tough, professional warriors who led from the front, exerted savage discipline and provided a role model for the legionaries under their command. This book, the second volume of a two-part study, reveals the appearance, weaponry, role and impact of these legendary soldiers during the five centuries that saw the Roman Empire reach its greatest geographical extent under Trajan and Hadrian, only to experience a long decline in the West in the face of sustained pressure from its 'barbarian' neighbours. Featuring spectacular full-colour artwork, written by an authority on the army of the Caesars and informed by a wide range of sculptural, written and pictorial evidence from right across the Roman world, this book overturns established wisdom and sheds new light on Rome's most famous soldiers during the best-known era in its history.

A detailed history of the commemorations of US activist involvement in the Spanish Civil War, based on a combination of archival and ethnographic evidence. Nostalgia can serve as a vital tool in the emotional reconstitution and preservation of suppressed histories, rather than sentimentally privileging the past at the expense of present concerns and limiting a culture's progressive potential. Between 1936 and 1938, responding to a military coup in Spain led by Francisco Franco with the support of both Hitler and Mussolini, over 2700 US anti-fascists joined 30,000 volunteers from around the world to form the International Brigade. They came together to defend the democratically elected Spanish government against this early manifestation of the fascist Axis. After three bloody years, Franco's rebellion succeeded, and his dictatorship lasted until his death in 1975. From the moment the first American volunteers returned home, and to this day, they have been holding commemorative events recalling the struggle. For nearly seventy years, the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade have cited and re-cited their activist past in theatrically eclectic, highly emotional commemorative performances, a site for both nostalgia and progressive politics. Literary recitations, scripted dramatic pieces, songs, films, photographs, and celebrity appearances have been juxtaposed with speeches, fundraising, and a rigorous attention to pressing political and social concerns of the day. The history and content of these events isdetailed and analyzed here based on a combination of archival and ethnographic evidence. The exemplary role of songs from the war, as both nostalgic triggers and historical artifacts, is also examined. Commemorations of theSpanish Civil War have provided necessary anchors for a period in U.S. history when views now thought extreme were an accepted part of mass political discourse. Through this rich, inter-generational performance practice, a marginalized, vernacular political minority has deployed radical nostalgia as a necessary corrective to an official culture disinterested in America's leftist past, and threatened by its implications. Peter Glazer is Associate Professor in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

"Managing Stress After War: Veteran's Workbook and Guide to Wellness" outlines clear strategies for tackling problems such as learning healthy coping skills, sleep problems, and managing stress, anger, and depression. Written in an easy-to-understand style, this essential workbook and its companion clinician's manual were developed and refined by the authors to help veterans returning from conflicts and provide education and intervention for those who are experiencing war-related stress.

In the recent war in Iraq, the 7th Armoured Brigade, bearers of the Desert Rats insignia, was immediately engaged in some of the fiercest early fighting, ultimately taking Basra for the Allies. The war in Iraq revived public focus on the Desert Rats whose famous battles of World War II helped turn the tide of German dominance. After World War II the Desert Rats re-emerged as part of the NATO forces during the Cold War years, and in other major deployments in the 1991 Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo. In this latest of his military histories, John Parker once again draws heavily on the drama of first-hand accounts for a story that is a seminal part of modern military history.

"Motherhood" and "military" are often viewed as dichotomous concepts, with the former symbolizing feminine ideals and expectations, and the latter suggesting masculine ideals and norms. Mothers, Military, and Society contributes to a growing body of research that disrupts this false dichotomy. This interdisciplinary and international volume explores the many ways in which mothers and the military converse, align, contest, and intersect in society. Through various chapters that include in-depth case studies, theoretical perspectives and personal narratives, this book offers insights into the complex relationship between motherhood and the military in ways that will engage both academic and non-academic readers alike.