WINNER OF THE LONGMAN-HISTORY TODAY BOOK PRIZE 2019 WINNER OF THE TEMPLER MEDAL BOOK PRIZE 2019 WINNER OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2019 LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2019 A SPECTATOR BOOK THE YEAR 2019 'Brilliant. The best discussion of soldiers in combat, their motivation, behaviours and fears, that I have come across' Robert Fox, Evening Standard Our Boys brings to life the human experiences of the paratroopers who fought in the Falklands War, and examines the long aftermath of that conflict. It is a first in many ways - a history of the Parachute Regiment, a group with an elite and aggressive reputation; a study of close-quarters combat on the Falkland Islands; and an exploration of the many legacies of this short and symbolic war. Told unflinchingly through the experiences of people who lived through it, Our Boys shows how the Falklands conflict began to change Britain's relationship with its soldiers, and our attitudes to trauma and war itself. It is also the story of one particular soldier: the author's uncle, who was killed during the conflict, and whose fate has haunted both the author and his fellow paratroopers ever since.

..". offers an unsurpassed chronicle of the war in the West."-- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"Thiseyewitness account brings a better understanding to a conflict that brought a nationto its knees." -- Historical Media Review

..". anexceptional Civil War narrative. It has value for the military and literaryhistorian." -- War, Literature, and the Arts

The letters anddiary of Major James Austin Connolly, 123rd Illinois Infantry, constitute anunsurpassed record of Civil War campaigning in the West. Connolly had a flair fornarrative, an eye for people and places, and a smooth and facile style. His accountsoffer a realistic picture of day-to-day soldiering in the Civil War -- of rough, spare living in the field, of boredom and fun in camp, of seemingly aimless scouts, and of the high excitement of battle.

A penetrating look inside an armored cavalry regiment -- the technology, the strategies, and the people . . . profiled by Tom Clancy.

His first non-fiction book, Submarine, captured the reality of life aboard a nuclear warship. Now, the #1 bestselling author of Clear and Present Danger and Without Remorse portrays today's military as only army personnel can know it.

With the same compelling, you-are-there immediacy of his acclaimed fiction, Tom Clancy provides detailed descriptions of tanks, helicopters, artillery, and more -- the brilliant technology behind the U. S. Army. He captures military life -- from the drama of combat to the daily routine -- with total accuracy, and reveals the roles and missions that have in recent years distinguished our fighting forces.

Armored Cav includes:

• Descriptions of the M1A2 Main Battle Tank, the AH-64A Apache Attack Helicopter, and more
  
• An interview with General Frederick Franks
  
• Strategies behind the Desert Storm account
  
• Exclusive photograph, illustrations and diagrams
  

In 1665 the Carignan-Salieres Regiment was sent to Canada by King Louis XIV to quell the Iroquois, whose attacks were strangling the colony's fur-based economy and threatening to destroy its tiny settlements. In the course of its three-year stay in Canada, the regiment established a period of relative peace that allowed the French to consolidate their foothold on the north shore of the St Lawrence, establish new settlements across the river, and rebuild the economy to its former prosperity. Promoted by Abbe Lionel Groulx as a body of chosen men sent to do God's work, the regiment came to be viewed as an elite corps of Catholic crusaders. In The Good Regiment Jack Verney sets the record straight, revealing that the Carignan-Salieres Regiment was not a group of saintly knights but caroused, womanized, and gambled in off hours just like any other infantry regiment.

33. Waffen-Grenadier Division der SS was one of a number of divisions in the Third Reich's armed forces composed of foreign soldiers. The majority that formed this unit were French: volunteers or men who, because of collaboration, had been forced to help the German's on the eve of the Allied invasion in Western Europe. During February-March 1945 the French division took part in the struggle for Pomerania, facing overwhelming Soviet and Polish Forces. The unit fought in a constant retreat and met its fate during the few days of battle in Bialogard (former Belgard an der Persante) and Karlino (Koerlin) region. From that point, after the Division's reorganisation from the German to the French pattern, the retreat transformed into a chaotic escape, which for many ended tragically in Polish or Soviet captivity, or in mass graves which are still waiting to be discovered. Only a handful of the 4,500 Frenchmen who started the battle near Czarne (Hammerstein) and Czluchow (Schlochau) managed to survive and after a few weeks reached the new meeting point in Neustrelitz, Germany. After that, some of them prepared for struggle for Berlin and went to battle once more in April 1945. Lukasz Gladysiak's book is the first attempt by a Polish author to accurately recreate these episodes of the last stages of 33. Waffen-Grenadier Division der SS's history. Collecting historical sources from all over Europe, including German Army Group Vistula's documents, and memories of veterans of both sides of the frontline largely unpublished so far, the author takes us to the fields, towns and villages of Pomerania during the tragic days of the beginning of 1945, and follows the battle through the towns of Czarne (Hammerstein)-Czluchow (Schlochau), Szczecinek (Neustettin), Bialogard (Belgardan der Persante), Karlino (Koerlin) iKolobrzeg (Kolberg). While the chronological description of the combat forms the backbone of this book, the individual soldiers' stories, including biographies of key figures, as well as a number of previously unsolved mysteries are also covered, such as the fate of General Edgar Puaud. This is the first book that refers extensively to the French SS-men's battles in Pomerania in the last stages of the Third Reich.

At the Forward Edge of Battle is the first ever illustrated history of the Pakistan Armoured Corps. The Pakistan Armoured Corps is based on a unique blend of values and traditions inherited from its predecessors, and those of the post-Independence national army. The origins of this force can be traced back to the time when the cavalry units of the British India Army were mechanized, in the late 1930s. They were worked up and then deployed extensively during the Second World War, and further moulded during the post-independence period and two wars with India between 1948-1971. By the 1990s, the Pakistan Armoured Corps had evolved into a modern fighting force in thought, organization, and equipment. Based on decades of the author's first-hand experience, extensive research with the help of authentic sources and official documentation, this book provides a detailed and richly illustrated description of the build-up and expansion of the Pakistan Armoured Corps, its culture, organisation, doctrine, equipment, bases, a myriad of events and personalities, and combat operations that shaped it over the last 95 years. At the Forward Edge of Battle, Volume 2, is illustrated with over 100 rare and authentic photographs, 15 colour profiles, and a similar number of maps.

In October 1813, the soldiers of one of Napoleon's staunchest Allies, Saxony, defected en masse in the midst of battle at Leipzig. Almost immediately III German Army Corps was formed with these same soldiers as its nucleus and augmented with returning former prisoners of war, volunteers and militia. Commanded by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar the Corps was sent to the Southern Netherlands to take part in the final defeat of Napoleon amidst of a constant changing command of control structure, in which the Swedish Crown Prince Bernadotte played a major and dubious role. Although for the greater part inexperienced and badly armed, fighting against the much superior French I Corps which even contained Imperial Guard units, III Corps struggled to prove that it could be trusted, paying a major role to protect the Netherlands against the French as these regions tried to regain their own identity after decades of French rule.

General George Monck once described the Royalist horse as "a rabble of gentility". Modern research has largely dispelled this image of the King's cavalry. However the description seems at first sight appropriate to the body of cavalry known as the "Northern Horse". Formed from those elements of the Marquis of Newcastle's Northern Royalist Army which elected to continue to fight after the crushing defeat at Marston Moor (2 July 1644) during the next 15 months the Northern Horse swept across much of England and Wales , becoming increasingly notorious in the process. United and reorganised by their commander, the formidable Sir Marmaduke Langdale, the Northern Horse, whilst professing loyalty to the King, increasingly followed their own agenda, of renewing the war in the North, sometimes at the expense of the wider Royalist cause. This book looks at the origins and composition of the Northern Horse, the characteristics of its officers and men, their motivation and behaviour, and their impact on those they encountered. It examines their chequered fighting record, a subject of debate even among contemporaries. It will deal with their victories, notably their epic relief of Pontefract in March 1645, and their controversial role at such encounters as Naseby and Rowton Heath. The book makes extensive use of contemporary sources, some used here for the first time. Extensively illustrated, including specially commissioned artwork and maps, 'Rabble of Gentility?' will be welcomed by readers interested in the history of the British Civil Wars, living history enthusiasts, wargamers and model makers, and those interested in the history of Northern England in the 17th century.

After the protracted and bloody battles in the Gazala Line , May/June 1942, the defeated Eighth Army was in full retreat towards the positions at Alamein. Here the Eighth Army licked its wounds and replenished its stocks of men and materials. Montgomery was appointed as the new commander and instilled into his troops a new air of confidence. Most studies of Alamein focus on the northern coastal sector where the main action was fought. This study looks at the southern sector held by XIII Corps: 50th Northumbrian Division, 1st Greek Brigade under its command. 44th Home Counties Division and the 7th Armoured Division with 2nd Free French Brigade under its command. Though the fighting here was not on the same scale as the coastal sector it was none the less a series of bloody actions and hundreds of men perished. XIII Corps had the job of holding on their front German and Italian armoured divisions that would otherwise be sent north to impede the main attack by Eighth Army. After the first attacks in the north and south failed to break through the Axis forces Montgomery organised Operation Supercharge, a thrust in the north headed by infantry and artillery. 151 [Durham Brigade] was moved north to take a leading role in this attack in early November. After a bloody fight the Durhams and Scots troops broke through and the British armour streamed out into the desert as the Axis forces retreated.

In 1943, the New Brunswick Rangers were sent to Britain, converted into a heavy weapons support unit, and shipped off to Normandy.Originating as a 19th century militia, the New Brunswick Rangers were placed on active service for the first time during the Second World War, serving first in the Maritimes and Newfoundland. In 1943, the Rangers were sent to Britain, where they were converted to a heavy weapons support unit, armed with machine guns and mortars in preparation for the invasion of Normandy.In this illuminating account, Matthew Douglass uncovers their participation in the war: their arrival in Normandy and their contributions to the battles in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Present at many of the critical moments of the campaign, the Rangers participated in the Battle of the Falaise Gap, which cleared the way for the advance on Paris and the German border; the Battle of the Scheldt, which secured the vital supply lines of the port of Antwerp; and the Battle of the Reichswald, when German resistance on the west bank of the Rhine was finally broken. Drawing on archival photographs and original source documents, Douglass's account of the Rangers' wartime experiences is a crucial piece in understanding the role of heavy weapons support units on the Western Front.The New Brunswick Rangers in the Second World War is volume 27 of the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series.

This book tells the little known story of the Army's regimental and garrison schools established in 1812 to provide schooling for soldiers' children and subsequently for enlisted men, some almost 30 years before public money was first provided for elementary schools in England and Wales. This is the first published work on the Army's schools during the 19th century for almost 50 years and the author takes a fresh approach, placing the narrative within the context of contemporary opinion about the need for educated soldiers and the schooling appropriate for the lowers classes ( from which the Army predominately drew its recruits), whilst also explaining the hitherto neglected, but crucial part played by the responsible ministers at the War Office in establishing and ensuring the survival of the schools. There were no published government reports on these regimental schools until 1859 and previous literature has been largely silent on the workings of the schools during the early years, when they were conducted by untrained schoolmaster-sergeants selected by their commanding officers from within the ranks of their regiments. This book breaks new ground by drawing on the archives of more than 40 regiments of infantry and cavalry preserved in their regimental museum and county records offices, including standing orders, digests of service and personal diaries, together with and other contemporary material from a larger number of regiments in the UK National Archives, in order to construct an unprecedented account of the workings of the schools during the years. The book explains the difficulties faced by COs in securing sufficient literate men from within the ranks suitable for appointment and explains the challenges faced by even the most competent schoolmasters in keeping open the schools as their regiments marched between barracks in the United Kingdom and set out on long journeys by land and sea to stations across the Empire. The author builds on the previous literature in explaining the significance of the reforms in the Army's schools that were introduced during the 1840s, including establishing the 'Normal school' at the Royal Military Asylum Chelsea to train a new class of army schoolmasters to replace the schoolmaster- sergeants, and theappointment of an Inspector to oversee the work of the schools. The approach taken in this book however differs from the previous works in a number of respects. Whilst acknowledging the important part played by Rev George Gleig, the Army's Principal Chaplain and first Inspector of Military Schools, this book aims to provide a balanced narrative, which also recognises the decisive part played of Sidney Herbert and Lord Panmure (Fox Maule) as the responsible ministers at the War Office. Their work in securing support within their governments for the additional expenditure required and in overcoming the suspicions and potential opposition of the Dukes of Wellington and Cambridge as Commanders in Chiefs at the Horse Guards were essential to the success of the reforms. The author explains that the reforms were not always well received in all parts of the Army and argues that the changes introduced by the War Office in 1846 were only the start of a long process of creating a professional structure for the Army's schools that extended well into the 1860s. The chapters describing the difficulties faced by Sydney Herbert and Lord Palmore in implementing the reforms provide some interesting examples of the manoeuvring for authority within the Army by the Secretary of State for War and the Commander in Chief at the Horse Guards during these years. Throughout the century a large part of the British Army was stationed overseas and a significate proportion was in India. The previous literature has little to say about the how the reforms of were implemented in the colonial garrisons and is silent on the separate arrangements for superintendence and inspection of the schools that operated for some thirty years in the three Indian Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras. This work pays particular attention to the particular circumstances of the Army's school in India throughout the century.##The author explains that the introduction of short service enlistment following Cardwell's reforms in 1870 and the beginnings of national system of elementary education following Forster's Education Act in the same year, raised questions about the continuing need for a separate system of Army schools. This was the subject of intense debate within the military departments which is described in the book's concluding chapters. The War Office decided that there were good reasons to retain the Army's schools, but decided in 1887 that the tuition for recruits and enlisted men seeking promotion as NCOs could be more cost effectively delivered in larger garrison schools by combining soldiers from a number of regiments. It however decided to retain the regimental schools for the children for the practical reason that the battalions of the infantry and the regiments of cavalry continued to move at regular intervals between the camps and barracks at home and across the empire.##By the final decade of the century the schools had become an established part of the life of the regiments in British Army and contributed to the sense of regimental identity that was the essence of the British Army during the period. The schoolmasters and mistresses (both the trained and untrained) who taught in the regimental schools, often in the most difficult conditions, were amongst of the unsung pioneers of elementary education in Great Britain and their schools were exceptional and probably unique in providing not only for children, but also for adults, at a time when there was little continuing education for those who wished to improve their literacy after leaving school. The story of regimental and garrison schools has long deserved a place in the history the British Army during the19th century.

Llewelyn Wyn Griffiths Up to Mametz, published in 1931, is now firmly established as one of the finest accounts of soldiering on the Western Front. It tells the story of the creation of a famous Welsh wartime battalion (The Royal Welsh Fusiliers), its training, its apprenticeship in the trenches, through to its ordeal of Mametz Wood on the Somme as part of 38 Division. But there it stopped. General Jonathon Riley has however discovered Wyn Griffiths unpublished diaries and letters which pick up where Up to Mametz left off through to the end of the War. With careful editing and annotation, the events of these missing years are now available alongside the original work. They tell of an officers life on the derided staff and provide fascinating glimpses of senior officers, some who attract high praise and others who the author obviously despised. The result is an enthralling complete read and a major addition to the bibliography of the period. Llewelyn Wyn Griffiths was born into a Welsh speaking family in Llandrillo yn Rhos, North Wales. He joined the Civil Service as a Tax Surveyor. Aged 24 on the outbreak of War, he was accepted for a commission in the 15th (1st London Welsh) Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and served in the Battalion or on the staff for the rest of the War. Returning to the Inland Revenue he was responsible for the pay-As-You-Earn tax system, retiring in 1952. He filled many distinguished appointments, such as the Arts Council, and was a regular broadcaster. Awarded an Honorary DLitt by the University of Wales, he was holder of the CBE, OBE, Croix de Guerre and an MID. He died in 1977.

The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) supported the British Army throughout the First World War treating sick and wounded military personnel. The RAMC also had a range of sanitation responsibilities. The military nursing services and voluntary medical personnel provided vital support to RAMC medical units and hospitals, ensuring the effective treatment of casualties. The size of the armies, the intensity of the combat, the power of modern weaponry and the global nature of conflict meant the number of casualties proved challenging for the medical services of all combatants, including the RAMC. Consequently a number of innovative solutions were needed, and one such innovation developed by British medical services was the use of barges for the evacuation of seriously wounded casualties. A range of previously unpublished photographs, in thematic chapters considering aspects such as service in the United Kingdom, global warfare and commemoration, illustrate experiences of RAMC and medical personnel during the First World War. The book contributes to wider understanding of the RAMC and medical services in the First World War, and as such will be of relevance to readers with an interest in medical, social and photographic history.

When Charles Edward Stuart launched the last, and perhaps most famous, of the Jacobite Risings in the late summer of 1745, the British Army found itself ill-placed to respond. Its most effective troops were on the continent; regular units at home were weak, inexperienced or both; the Militia system was moribund and politically suspect. When the opposing forces first met in the field, the result was ignominious rout and retreat. Nevertheless, eight months after the Rising began, the Jacobite cause went down in crushing defeat at Culloden. This collection of essays examines in detail some of the units that marched and fought for George II during this tumultuous period. Consideration is given to regular regiments of foot and dragoons as well as to the additional units raised for the emergency. In the latter category, different chapters examine the 'noblemen's regiments' added to the regular line as a piece of political jobbery, the militias raised by clans loyal to the House of Hanover, and the bluecoated volunteer regiments fielded to resist the Jacobite invasion of England. Emphasising the fact that this was a civil war, three of the units that are considered were Scottish-raised, whilst others contained substantial numbers of Scotsmen in their ranks. The experiences of the units in question varied greatly; some took part in the pivotal battles of Prestonpans, Falkirk, and Culloden whilst others never fired a shot in anger. Taken together, however, these studies provide a new and fascinating insight into the military response to the Jacobite '45.

This is the story of the 162nd (Turkistan) Infantry Division, a World War II German division composed of Central Asian Turkistanis. The book covers the political background (pan-Turkism) of the founders of this unit in German service, debunks some historical myths surrounding it (the 'Nazi Mysteries') and focuses on the most crucial events in the history of the division, the Gottschee battle (Slovenia) and the 'great winter mopping up' (northern Italy). Pan-Turkish activists were prime movers in organizing Turkistani military units in German uniform. These men were completely unrelated to the occultist/esoteric beliefs, followed by some top Nazi leaders such as Heinrich Himmler or Alfred Rosenberg. The Pan-Turkish activists recruited the soldiers from Soviet POWs in Hitler's hands. Not all of the former prisoners were volunteers, some were forced to join, while a huge number of Soviet soldiers enlisted in order to survive German captivity (where a large number of their comrades had died because of ill treatment or starvation.) Another huge problem was that Pan-Turkism is something different from Kemalism (Turkish-Anatolian secular and Jacobin nationalism), the former being the political movement aiming at the political union of all Turkic-speaking populations. This is why the German ambassador to Ankara reported that he thought that the Turkish Government might even be embarrassed by open Pan-Turk propaganda from Berlin. Despite this, four main Turkish or partially Turkish units in German uniform were formed. These units were part of the'Eastern Troops', whose Soviet personnel (Baltics, Slavs, Caucasians, Turkmen etc) were integrated into the German forces. It seems that the largest formation of the Eastern Troops in German service was the 162nd (Turkistan) Infantry Division. The most crucial event in the history of this formation was the 'great winter mopping up' (November 1944-January 1945). This operation (the clearing of Italian partisan independent republics which had been set up in the Northern Apennine mountains) was the greatest German anti-partisan action in Western Europe and one of the greatest anti-partisan operations of World War II. The author undertook a massive field investigation to determine what happened in the mountains. He reached the conclusion that the Turkistani soldiers were victims twice over: as Easterners they were regarded as inferior beings by their Nazi masters, as non-Communists, they were regarded as traitors by the Allies. All of this explains why the life and the fate of these Turkmen was absolutely tragic. The author presents a detailed textual history accompanied by over 200 rare photographs, including a large number that are previously unpublished.

An unheralded military hero, Charles Young (1864-1922) was the third black graduate of West Point, the first African American national park superintendent, the first black U.S. military attache, the first African American officer to command a Regular Army regiment, and the highest-ranking black officer in the Regular Army until his death. "Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment" tells the story of the man who--willingly or not--served as a standard-bearer for his race in the officer corps for nearly thirty years, and who, if not for racial prejudice, would have become the first African American general. Brian G. Shellum describes how, during his remarkable army career, Young was shuffled among the few assignments deemed suitable for a black officer in a white man's army--the Buffalo Soldier regiments, an African American college, and diplomatic posts in black republics such as Liberia. Nonetheless, he used his experience to establish himself as an exceptional cavalry officer. He was a colonel on the eve of the United States' entry into World War I, when serious medical problems and racial intolerance denied him command and ended his career. Shellum's book seeks to restore a hero to the ranks of military history; at the same time, it informs our understanding of the role of race in the history of the American military.

During World War II 51,000 Italian prisoners of war were detained in the United States. When Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, most of these soldiers agreed to swear allegiance to the United States and to collaborate in the fight against Germany. At the Letterkenny Army Depot, located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, more than 1,200 Italian soldiers were detained as co-operators. They arrived in May 1944 to form the 321st Italian Quartermaster Battalion and remained until October 1945. As detainees, the soldiers helped to order, stock, repair, and ship military goods, munitions and equipment to the Pacific and European Theaters of war. Through such labor, they lent their collective energy to the massive home front endeavor to defeat the Axis Powers. The prisoners also helped to construct the depot itself, building roads, sidewalks, and fences, along with individual buildings such as an assembly hall, amphitheater, swimming pool, and a chapel and bell tower. The latter of these two constructions still exist, and together with the assembly hall, bear eloquent testimony to the Italian POW experience. For their work the Italian co-operators received a very modest, regular salary, and they experienced more freedom than regular POWs. In their spare time, they often had liberty to leave the post in groups that American soldiers chaperoned. Additionally, they frequently received or visited large entourages of Italian Americans from the Mid-Atlantic region who were eager to comfort their erstwhile countrymen. The story of these Italian soldiers detained at Letterkenny has never before been told. Now, however, oral histories from surviving POWs, memoirs generously donated by family members of ex-prisoners, and the rich information newly available from archival material in Italy, aided by material found in the U.S., have made it possible to reconstruct this experience in full. All of this historical documentation has also allowed the authors to tell fascinating individual stories from the moment when many POWs were captured to their return to Italy and beyond. More than seventy years since the end of World War II, family members of ex-POWs in both the United States and Italy still enjoy the positive legacy of this encounter.

The Civil War brought many forms of upheaval to America, not only in waking hours but also in the dark of night. Sleeplessness plagued the Union and Confederate armies, and dreams of war glided through the minds of Americans in both the North and South. Sometimes their nightly visions brought the horrors of the conflict vividly to life. But for others, nighttime was an escape from the hard realities of life and death in wartime. In this innovative new study, Jonathan W. White explores what dreams meant to Civil War-era Americans and what their dreams reveal about their experiences during the war. He shows how Americans grappled with their fears, desires, and struggles while they slept, and how their dreams helped them make sense of the confusion, despair, and loneliness that engulfed them. White takes readers into the deepest, darkest, and most intimate places of the Civil War, connecting the emotional experiences of soldiers and civilians to the broader history of the conflict, confirming what poets have known for centuries: that there are some truths that are only revealed in the world of darkness.

The Great War was a pivotal experience for twentieth-century Canada. Shoestring Soldiers is the first scholarly study since 1938 to focus exclusively on Canada's initial overseas experience from late 1914 to the end of 1915. In this exciting new work, Andrew Iarocci challenges the dominant view that the 1st Canadian Division was poorly prepared for war in 1914, and less than effective during battles in 1915. He examines the first generations of men to serve overseas with the division: their training, leadership, morale, and combat operations from Salisbury Plain to the Ypres Salient, from the La Bassee Canal to Ploegsteert Wood. Iarocci contends that setbacks and high losses in battle were not so much the products of poor training and weak leadership as they were of inadequate material resources on the Western Front. Shoestring Soldiers incorporates a wealth of research material from official documents, soldiers' letters and diaries, and the battlefields themselves, surveyed extensively by the author. It marks an important contribution to the growing body of literature on Canada in the First World War.

This book, translated from the original Spanish, is the primary academic and historical study of the Blue Division a Falangist initiative involving the dispatch of some forty-thousand Spanish combatants (more than a half of whom paid with their lives, health, or liberty) to the Russian Front during the Second World War. Xavier Moreno Julia does not limit himself to relating their deeds under arms, but also analyses for the first time the political background in detail: the complex relations between the Spanish government and Hitler's Germany; the internal conflicts between the Falangists and the Army; the rise and fall of Franco's brother-in-law, Minister Ramon Serrano Suner, who inspired the Blue Division and became the second most powerful person in Spain; and the attitude of General Agustin Munoz Grandes, commander of the Blue Division, who was encouraged by Berlin to seriously consider the possibility of taking over the reins of Spanish power. In the end, there were 45,500 reasons that led to joining the Blue Division one for each young man who decided to enlist. To understand all of the complex reasons behind their military service under German command is impossible at this juncture. It is an irrecoverable past that lies in Spanish cemeteries and on the Russian steppes. This book, based on massive documentation in German, British and Spanish archives, is an essential source of information to understand Spain in the 1940s an epoch when the Caudillo's power and the regime's good fortune were less secure than is often believed. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE

The Gurkhas are an elite fighting force from Nepal who have served the British Crown since 1815. They occupy a unique place in the public's imagination, and are renowned for their loyalty, professionalism and resolve. Through stunning photography, Arc of the Gurkha explores the span of the Gurkha career from recruitment through to training and deployment up to post-military employment and retirement. Alex Schlacher has accompanied the Gurkhas on operations in Afghanistan, on exercises in the Brunei jungle and Australia, and has visited all the units in the Brigade as well as retired and medically discharged Gurkhas. She has taken intimate portraits of hundreds of soldiers and heard their stories, many of which are recounted in this book. There have been other books on the Gurkhas, but none has portrayed the individual soldiers and focused about their backgrounds, lives and thoughts. This unique and insightful publication is the first to explore what it really means for a Gurkha to be a Gurkha.

This excellent study was commissioned by the U.S. Marine Corps from the distinguished academic and military historian Russel Stolfi. This groundbreaking work is more than just a Divisional history. The whole basis of Rommel's exceptional handling is summed up in Stolfi's masterful conclusion 'Rommel had a bias for action.' The book traces the actions of the 7th 'Ghost' division in France during 1940 and the early part of the campaign in Russia during 1941. This powerful work brilliantly illustrates Stolfi's commanding insight into the genius of Rommel as a Divisional commander. Long out of print, this new edition brings back into circulation a classic piece of military history writing for a new audience.