Georg Bucher, a German infantryman from 1914 had lost almost all of his closest friends by 1918. The last friend he lost, Riedel, was crushed by a tank in one of the last battles of the war. This is his tale in their memory. A sergeant by 1918, Bucher describes nearly every part of the Western Front - the Marne, Verdun,Somme, Ypres, the Vosges and the 1918 Spring Offensive in vivid detail. He illustrates how his psychological state changed over the course of the war, how a soldier can in a split second turn from a human being into a killing machine without pity, killing as second nature, without thought.The raw endurance required to survive the trenches is narrated in undiluted fashion, no horrors are spared; the quagmire of 3rd Ypres, unrelenting lice and rats, the stench of death and descriptions ofa bhorrent actions such as (so Bucher alleges) French soldiers, under the influence of absinthe, mutilating some of his company for revenge on the Senegalese.Fans of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' or 'Storm of Steel' will be delighted to discover Bucher's work.

Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world. In this deep and incisive study, General David Petraeus, who commanded the US-led coalitions in both Iraq, during the Surge, and Afghanistan and former CIA director, and the prize-winning historian Andrew Roberts, explore over 70 years of conflict, drawing significant lessons and insights from their fresh analysis of the past.

Drawing on their different perspectives and areas of expertise, Petraeus and Roberts show how often critical mistakes have been repeated time and again, and the challenge, for statesmen and generals alike, of learning to adapt to various new weapon systems, theories and strategies. Among the conflicts examined are the Arab-Israeli wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the two Gulf Wars, the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia, and both the Soviet and Coalition wars in Afghanistan, as well as guerilla conflicts in Africa and South America. Conflict culminates with a bracing look at Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine, yet another case study in the tragic results when leaders refuse to learn from history, and an assessment of the nature of future warfare.

Filled with sharp insight and the wisdom of experience, Conflict is not only a critical assessment of our recent past, but also an essential primer of modern warfare that provides crucial knowledge for waging battle today as well as for understanding what the decades ahead will bring.

This is a rare chance to re-discover a contemporary account of a military conflict which took place a Century ago. The Agony of Belgium, written in 1914 by Frank Fox, a war correspondent, recounts events that the modern European mind would probably wish to forget. The bravery and resilience of the relatively new and untested Belgian Army, following the rejection of the German Ultimatum by the King, deserves a wider audience. Throughout this account the courageous and noble qualities of King Albert in the dark days come to the fore. Whether at the Front as an active Commander-in-Chief; with his people during Zeppelin raids and artillery bombardments at Antwerp; declining refuge in France after the retreat from Ostend; or rallying his troops for rearguard actions his conduct was of the finest. His account of the "frightfulness" of the events in Louvain against the civilian population- including women and children- and the sacking of cultural treasures was not at first believed by Officials in Antwerp. However his reporting of Zeppelin raid shelped to arouse public opinion in the United States.Fox provides vivid descriptions of a terrible, and little known, conflict.

`I was on a train, and a German soldier began shouting at me and poking me in the ribs with his machine gun. I just thought that was it, the game was up . . .' Downed airman Bob Frost faced danger at every turn as he was smuggled out of France and over the Pyrenees. Prisoner of war Len Harley went on the run in Italy, surviving months in hiding and then a hazardous climb over the Abruzzo mountains with German troops hot on his heels. These are just some of the stories told in heart-stopping detail as Monty Halls takes us along the freedom trails out of occupied Europe, from the immense French escape lines to lesser-known routes in Italy and Slovenia. Escaping Hitler features spies and traitors, extraordinary heroism from those who ran the escape routes and offered shelter to escapees, and great feats of endurance. The SAS in Operation Galia fought for forty days behind enemy lines in Italy and then, exhausted and pursued by the enemy, exfiltrated across the Apennine mountains. And in Slovenia Australian POW Ralph Churches and British Les Laws orchestrated the largest successful Allied escape of the entire war. Mixing new research, interviews with survivors and his own experience of walking the trails, Monty brings the past to life in this dramatic and gripping slice of military history.

Inspired by the discovery of her father's long-forgotten photos, diaries and letters from home, the author set about creating this book as a tribute to the bravery and sacrifices made by the armed forces in the often over-looked Indian sub-continent area of conflict, 5,000 miles away from home. Now, after six years of work and research, this book has culminated in a tremendous insight into the appalling hardships and working conditions as well as the ingenuity of the often forgotten RAF ground crew who kept the warbirds in the air. Deprived by the RAF of his Pilot's Licence due to colour blindness, Peter was based firstly in central India, maintaining old planes that were already obsolete, and then in Burma where the ground crew were also flying as cargo handlers and stretcher bearers, having to land and take off in the most hazardous of conditions on short bush strips hacked out of the Japanese-infested jungles.

The George Medal, along with the George Cross, was instituted by His Majesty King George VI on 24th September 1940. His desire, that the many acts of bravery being performed on home soil, in a type of warfare never experienced before, and primarily by civilians for whom military awards were inappropriate, was the driving force behind their creation.The medal has been awarded to civilians and military personnel over the past 75 years, all of whose names are contained within this register.Never before has a register of the George Medal been produced that presents the information behind the awards. It stands as a testament to the selfless acts performed by the men and women within its pages.

Scholars have argued that the end of the Cold War and the War on Terror have radically changed the context of war and defense, diminished the role of nation-states in favor of multi-lateral defense activities, and placed a new focus on human security. International peacekeeping has superseded the traditional act of war-making as the most important defense strategy among wealthy, liberal-democratic nations. And, per UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, all member nations must consider the needs of women and girls during repatriation, resettlement, and post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
Gender, Sex, and the Postnational Defense looks at the way that a postnational defense influenced by SC 1325 and focused on human security affects gender relations in militaries. Interestingly, despite the successful implementation of gender mainstreaming in training, the number of women involved in military peacekeeping remains low. Contradicting much of the gender mainstreaming literature, Annica Kronsell shows that increasing gender awareness in the military is a more achievable task than increasing gender parity.
Employing a feminist constructivist institutional approach, Kronsell questions whether military institutions can ever attain gender neutrality without confronting their reliance on masculinity constructs. She further questions whether "feminism" must always be equated with anti-militarism or if military violence committed in the name of enhancing human security can be performed according to a feminist ethics. Kronsell builds her theoretical argument on a case study of Sweden and the E.U.

This is the second volume, but the last to be published of a trilogy - the other volumes being Smashing the Atlantic Wall and The Battle of the Bulge. Monty's Rhine Adventure begins immediately after the Normandy invasion with the euphoria surrounding the belief that the war would soon be won. However, it was not to be as easy Monty hoped. The book covers the difficult next few months as the Allies slogged through France and Belgium fighting stern and skilled Nazi resistance. However, the centrepiece of Monty's Rhine Adventure is Operation Market garden - Monty's bold plan to cut through the German defences via the eight bridges which spanned the Dutch/German border. The book deals with the plan, its execution and its aftermath in rigorous detail. Had Market Garden gone to plan, it might have led to the overall defeat of the Third Reich before the end of 1944. As it was, it was the Russians that entered Berlin first in May 1945. Nonetheless, this period remains one of the boldest and most exciting of the Second World War.

The George Medal, along with the George Cross, was instituted by His Majesty King George VI on 24th September 1940. His desire, that the many acts of bravery being performed on home soil, in a type of warfare never experienced before, and primarily by civilians for whom military awards were inappropriate, was the driving force behind their creation.The medal has been awarded to civilians and military personnel over the past 75 years, all of whose names are contained within this register.Never before has a register of the George Medal been produced that presents the information behind the awards. It stands as a testament to the selfless acts performed by the men and women within its pages.

Based on many unpublished sources, this book narrates the individual parts played by over 1,500 of those who served with the 1/5th King's Own in the Great War. First seeing action in Flanders in March 1915, they fought in almost all of the major campaigns on the Western Front. Initially recruited from Lancaster, Morecambe, Blackpool and Fleetwood, this battalion was very much a 'family' unit with many of the men closely related and no less than seven father-son relationships within the battalion. Though these relationships helped strengthen the men in times of need, when casualties were suffered they brought extra heartache to the battlefield. Often, these tragic outcomes are related in the men's own words. Using a combination of mainly unpublished sources, this volume details the deeds of this gallant battalion. Wherever possible, accurate coordinates have been given for the places men served, fought and in many cases, were wounded or died. A series of sketch maps detail the trench locations in which the battalion fought. An appendix listing nearly 3,500 officers and men who served with the 1/5th is included and is the most complete battalion roll ever published.

If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win numerous battles without a single loss. - Sun Tzu, The Art of War Written in the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is still used as a book of military strategy today. Napoleon, Mae Zedong and Douglas MacArthur all claimed to have drawn inspiration from it. And beyond the world of war, modern-era business and management gurus have also applied Sun Tzu's ideas to politics and corporate strategy. This illustrated dual-language edition not only presents the original Chinese characters with James Trapp's translation on the facing page, it also tests Sun Tzu's ideas against history. Each of the 13 chapters includes a new commentary giving examples of how Sun Tzu's wisdom has been borne out on the world's battlefields. When, for example, has information provided by spies changed the course of a battle? How has history shown Sun Tzu's ideas on the importance of terrain in conflict to be true? And where can we best find examples of strategic warfare being waged? From the ancient world to the 20th century, the battles featured will be illustrated with colour battle maps, paintings and artworks. Of immense influence to leaders across millennia, The Art of War Illustrated is a classic text richly deserving this illustrated and expanded dual-language edition.