More than 2500 volunteers took the extraordinary decision to risk their lives in a foreign war, and more than 500 of them died. The book looks at their role in the key battles in Spain, including the heroic work of the medical volunteers. Drawing on contemporary photographs and images, Antifascistas documents the artistic and historical legacy of the International Brigades, and demonstrates the idealism, commitment and sacrifice of these exceptional men and women.

America has been at war for most of the 20th and 21st centuries and during that time has progressively moved towards a vicarious form of warfare, where key tasks are delegated to proxies, the military's exposure to danger is limited, and special forces and covert instruments are on the increase. Important strategic decisions are taken with minimal scrutiny or public engagement. This compelling account charts the historical emergence of this distinctive tradition of war and explains the factors driving its contemporary prominence. It contrasts the tactical advantages of vicarious warfare with its hidden costs and potential to cause significant strategic harm.

First published in 1914, this is a systematic treatment of the people whose contribution to civilization of the Nile Valley was for so long a source of controversy.

The war in the Middle East was a struggle between the Ottoman Turks, British, French and Russians for control of the lands and peoples held by the Ottoman Empire since the 1400s. Although known as the 'Sick Man of Europe', the empire still controlled significant parts of the Middle East. Intense diplomatic pressure from Germany culminated in a decision to join the Central Powers in October 1914. Russia had long coveted Ottoman territory, and the two empires clashed in the Caucasus. The Turks suffered a major defeat at Sarakamis, and their lack of success continued into 1916. However the Russian revolutions of 1917 led to the Russian forces in the area dissipating, and the following year the new Muslim-only 'Army of Islam' was sent to claim oil-rich Baku for the Turks, ousting the British-led defenders. In Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) the Ottoman defenders were at first defeated by the British, but General Townshend's decision to stay in Kut-al-Amara resulted in his eventual surrender in April 1916, a huge blow to Allied morale. The loss prompted the despatch of a much larger British force, and the subsequent capture of Baghdad and Mosul by the war's end. The persistent Ottoman threat to the Suez Canal led to the British offensive in Palestine. The capture of Jerusalem by General Allenby in 1917 was a welcome Christmas present for the Allies, while his subsequent victory at Megiddo, combined with the Arab Revolt inspired by Lawrence of Arabia, resulted in the capture of Damascus. However the defining struggle in this theatre was Gallipoli, the first time in over 200 years that Ottoman forces stood toe-to-toe with European troops and prevailed. The Gallipoli campaign had a profound effect not only on the Turks, but on the British, Australian and New Zealand troops who fought there, and marked the beginning of the end of European military supremacy in the region. With the aid of over 300 photographs, complemented by full-colour maps, Gallipoli and the Middle East provides a detailed guide to the background and conduct of World War I in all the theatres in which Ottoman forces were engaged.

The Sturmgeschutz, or StuG, as it is more popularly known, while conceived as self-propelled, infantry support artillery, in time, formed the backbone of Germany's anti-tank operations during WWII. With more than 135 war-era photos, this volume chronicles the design, development, and deployment of the first six (of nine variants) of this famed and feared weapon. The material is arranged in seven chapters, each focusing on a specific production model, or Ausfuhrung, of the Sturmgeschutz. This volume covers the Ausf.A through F/8 variants used during the early WWII years. Comprehensive tables reveal the details of performance, as well as technical specifications of each variant. A concise, easy-to-read text, and detailed photo captions expose the secrets of this iconic vehicle. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

A New York Times bestseller, Norman Ohler's Blitzed is a "fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich" (Washington Post). The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. Yet as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs: cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, which were consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to German soldiers. In fact, troops were encouraged, and in some cases ordered, to take rations of a form of crystal meth--the elevated energy and feelings of invincibility associated with the high even help to account for the breakneck invasion that sealed the fall of France in 1940, as well as other German military victories. Hitler himself became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drugs--ultimately including Eukodal, a cousin of heroin--administered by his personal doctor. Thoroughly researched and rivetingly readable, Blitzed throws light on a history that, until now, has remained in the shadows. "Delightfully nuts."--The New Yorker

The Home Guards are an attacking force lying in wait for, and ready to destroy, and enemy who dares to set foot on out shores.' The Home Guard has been immortalised in British culture in the TV series Dad's Army. Formed by men not eligible for active service - too old, too young, in reserved occupations vital to the war effort - who were expected to resist a German invasion with any resources they had to hand, the Home Guard is the embodiment of plucky British resolve against the odds. The Home Guard Pocket-Book evokes this spirit. Written by Brig-Gen Green, commanding 4th battalion, Sussex Home Guard and Training Adviser for the Sussex Zone, this book is based on his experience and, in his own words, 'is the result of my ransacking the dusty pigeon-holes of memory and the condensation of many books, official instructions and writings'. Its tone is informal and colloquial, such as: 'March discipline. Troops will always march off the parade ground at the Slope. As soon as this has been done the order "March at Ease" should be given. When marching at ease the rifle may be carried in any way a soldier fancies.' Nevertheless, the book is full of sound advice on training, organisation and discipline, fire arms, reconnaissance and field engineering, the responsibilities of the Group Pigeon Officer, the proper position to adopt for surviving a dive bomb attack, and how to set a trap for an unwary advancing German cyclist!

Originally published in 1979, this was the first biography of Jonathan Potts, a prominent Pennsylvania Quaker and physician who served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. It was also the first study to be published since 1931 of the role of medical doctors in the northern campaigns. No detailed memoir by an army physician or surgeon has survived to document the conditions they faced. The military career of Dr. Potts, reconstructed here from source materials, including first-hand accounts by Potts and his contemporaries provides considerable information to fill this historical gap.

Originally published in 1986, this book discusses the various meanings which historians have given to the term 'American Revolution'. It can be seen as a revolutionary war of independence from Britain, but also a constitutional and ideological revolution within America. This survey firstly examines the view from Britain and the consequences of the policy of exerting closer financial control over its colonies. It then discusses the colonists' perception of British actions and their responses which were to culminate in the Declaration of Independence. It concludes by examining the continuing revolution within America after the break with England. This will be of interest to A Level and introductory undergraduate course.

In this highly important book, Javier Rodrigo examines the role of Fascist Italy in the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. Fascist Italy's intervention in the Spanish Civil War to provide material, strategic, and diplomatic assistance led to Italy becoming a belligerent in the conflict. Following the unsuccessful military coup of July 1936 and the insurgents' subsequent failure to take Madrid, the Corps of Voluntary Troops (CTV, Corpo Truppe Volontarie ) was created-in the words of an Italian fascist anthem-to 'liberate Spain', usher in a 'new History', 'make the peoples oppressed by the Reds smile again', and 'build a fascist Europe'. Far from being insignificant or trivial, the intervention of Fascist Italy and Italian fascists on Spanish soil must be seen as one of the key aspects which contribute to the Spanish conflict's status as an epitome of the twentieth century. Drawing on sources ranging from ministerial orders to soldiers' diaries, this book reconstructs the evangelisation of fascism in Spain. This book is the first important study on Fascist Italy's role in the conflict to appear in English in over 45 years. It examines Italian intervention from angles unfamiliar to English-speaking readers and will be useful to students of history and scholars interested in twentieth-century Europe, fascism, and the international dimension of the Spanish Civil War.

This book investigates the uses of crusader medievalism - the memory of the crusades and crusading rhetoric and imagery - in Britain, from Walter Scott's The Talisman (1825) to the end of the Second World War. It seeks to understand why and when the crusades and crusading were popular, how they fitted with other cultural trends of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, how their use was affected by the turmoil of the First World War and whether they were differently employed in the interwar years and in the 1939-45 conflict. Building on existing studies and contributing the fruits of fresh research, it brings together examples of the uses of the crusades from disparate contexts and integrates them into the story of the rise and fall crusader medievalism in Britain.

'Wonderful... A heartbreaking story of the power of love and forgiveness' JILL MANSELL 'A tender yet thrilling story of love and family secrets in time of war' RACHEL HORE 'I was so engrossed. Wonderful, moving and uplifting' LESLEY PEARSE 'Love, loss, bravery... Ruth is an exceptional storyteller' ERICKA WALLER From the international bestselling author of WHILE PARIS SLEPT, a beautiful, heartwrenching and unforgettable novel of two people bound by love, torn apart by war and entwined forever by an extraordinary sacrifice. Paris 1944. Elise Chevalier knows what it is to love...and to hate. Her fiance, a young French soldier, was killed by the German army at the Maginot Line. Living amongst the enemy Elise must keep her rage buried deep within. Sebastian Kleinhaus no longer recognises himself. After four years spent fighting a war he doesn't believe in, wearing a uniform he despises, he longs for a way out. For something, someone, to be his salvation. Brittany 1963. Reaching for the suitcase under her mother's bed, eighteen-year-old Josephine Chevalier uncovers a secret that shakes her to the core. Determined to find the truth, she travels to Paris where she discovers the story of a dangerous love that grew as a city fought for its freedom. Of the last stolen hours before the first light of liberation. And of a betrayal so deep that it would irrevocably change the course of two young lives life for ever. 'From the moment I started reading this book I could not put it down ' REAL READER REVIEW 'An excellent read for fans of WW2 fiction ' REAL READER REVIEW 'A gripping story, well-written and about little-known events ' REAL READER REVIEW 'Outstandingly beautiful and brilliantly poignant ' REAL READER REVIEW 'I devoured the characters, marvelled at the storyline and really didn't want it to end ' REAL READER REVIEW 'This kept me captivated on every page' PRIMA MAGAZINE 'Poignant and evocative, this is historical wartime fiction at its finest' CULTUREFLY Acclaim for the unforgettable international bestseller WHILE PARIS SLEPT: 'You'll have your heart in your mouth and tears on your cheeks as it reaches its rich, life-affirming conclusion... Had me completely and utterly enraptured' LOUISE CANDLISH 'What a book... Emotional and heartrending...absolutely phenomenal. I was on tenterhooks throughout. A wonderful achievement' JILL MANSELL 'I absolutely loved it. Wonderful believable characters and it moved me to tears. Fabulous' LESLEY PEARSE 'A heartbreaking debut' JANET SKESLIEN CHARLES 'An amazing story of love, resilience and the human spirit' TRACY REES 'Brace yourself for a brilliant read. This will tug at your heartstrings' BEST 'Made me think and cry and rage and smile at mankind's capacity for both terrible, heartbreaking cruelty and beautiful, selfless love' NATASHA LESTER 'A gripping tale of love and sacrifice' WOMAN & HOME

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised.
In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.
Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis.

The crisis in Kosovo has excited passion and visionary exaltation of a kind rarely witnessed. The events have been portrayed as a aNew HumanismA, timed fortuitously with a new millennium, which will displace the crass and narrow interest politics of a mean-spirited past. But is this New Humanism guided by power interests or by humanitarian concern? Is the resort to force undertaken ain the name of principles and valuesAe as professed? Or are we witnessing something more crass and familiar? The New Military Humanism is Chomsky at his best: a brilliant and revealing analysis, offering lessons for us all and sounding a clear alarm which none should ignore.

This fascinating millitary history tells the intriguing tale of the bitter and attritional Winter War between the USSR and Finland in the midst of World War II. On 30 November 1939, Soviet bombers unloaded their bombs on Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Stalin's ultimatum, demanding the cession of huge tracts of territory as a buffer zone against Nazi Germany, had been rejected by the Finnish government, and now a small Baltic republic was at war with the giant Soviet military machine. But this forgotten war, fought under brutal, sub-arctic conditions, often with great heroism on both sides, proved one of the most astonishing in military history. Using guerrilla fighters on skis, even reindeer to haul supplies on sleds, heroic single-handed attacks on tanks, and with unfathomable endurance and the charismatic leadership of one of the 20th century's true military geniuses, Finland not only kept at bay but won an epic, if short-lived, victory over the hapless Russian conscripts. Its surreal engagements included the legendary "Sausage Battle", when starving Soviet troops who had over-run a Finnish encampment couldn't resist the cauldrons of hot sausage soup left behind by their opponents - and were ambushed as they stopped to sup. Although by sheer attritional weight of numbers Stalin eventually prevailed over the Finns, their pointed resistance enabled their country to remain free, even as other countries fell one by one. This book gives a telling insight into the military history of Russia, as once again Russian troops march on foreign soil, and a nation at Russia's borders fights to retain its independence.

From the decision to land in Normandy up to the closing of the "Falaise Gap" this work describes the different phases of the Battle: strategy, diversion, the multiple operations undertaken, the sectors chosen for landings, the Armed Forces and their missions in each case. Maps trace the Army Corps and units and their advance in the course of the Battle.

A concentrated and instructive work on the main stages of the Battle of Normandy.

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library-Literary Society is a non-profit educational organization. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - So far, very good. Here was the will - now for the way. At first sight not a foot of it appeared, but that didn't matter, for the Periwinkles are a hopeful race; their crest is an anchor, with three cock-a-doodles crowing atop. They all wear rose-colored spectacles, and are lineal descendants of the inventor of aerial architecture. An hour's conversation on the subject set the whole family in a blaze of enthusiasm. A model hospital was erected, and each member had accepted an honorable post therein. The paternal P. was chaplain, the maternal P. was matron, and all the youthful P.s filled the pod of futurity with achievements whose brilliancy eclipsed the glories of the present and the past. Arriving at this satisfactory conclusion, the meeting adjourned, and the fact that Miss Tribulation was available as army nurse went abroad on the wings of the wind.

This definitive encyclopedia, originally published in 1983 and now available as an ebook for the first time, covers the American Revolution, comes in two volumes and contains 865 entries on the war for American independence. Included are essays (ranging from 250 to 25,000 words) on major and minor battles, and biographies of military men, partisan leaders, loyalist figures and war heroes, as well as strong coverage of political and diplomatic themes. The contributors present their summaries within the context of late 20th Century historiography about the American Revolution. Every entry has been written by a subject specialist, and is accompanied by a bibliography to aid further research. Extensively illustrated with maps, the volumes also contain a chronology of events, glossary and substantial index.

The collapse of the French army in 1940 is a well-researched topic in Second World War Studies but a surprising gap in the historiography emerges when it comes to the study of the French military prior to the German offensive of May 1940. Using various public and private sources in different languages, this book aims to address this gap by studying morale on the frontline and its management by the French Government, the Grand Quartier General, at the scale of the regiment and on a personal level. This research also investigates German and British propaganda in French and aimed at the French sector of the frontline in order to offer the first comprehensive comparative study of French army morale in any language.

Was the outcome of the First World War on a knife edge? In this major new account of German wartime politics and strategy Holger Afflerbach argues that the outcome of the war was actually in the balance until relatively late in the war. Using new evidence from diaries, letters and memoirs, he fundamentally revises our understanding of German strategy from the decision to go to war and the failure of the western offensive to the radicalisation of Germany's war effort under Hindenburg and Ludendorff and the ultimate collapse of the Central Powers. He uncovers the struggles in wartime Germany between supporters of peace and hardliners who wanted to fight to the finish. He suggests that Germany was not nearly as committed to all-out conquest as previous accounts argue. Numerous German peace advances could have offered the opportunity to end the war before it dragged Europe into the abyss.