|
Showing 1 - 8 of
8 matches in All Departments
The former colony of Spanish Sahara saw frequent outbursts of
tribal and ethnic rebellions while ruled by the colonial
authorities in the late 19th and through the early 20th Century.
Its vastness and distances essentially dictated the application of
air power in response. While most of these events attracted next to
no attention in English-language media, the large-scale operations
of the Spanish colonial authorities of the late 1950s became
notable at least for the final combat deployment of the famous
Messerschmitt Bf.109. Following the Spanish withdrawal from Spanish
Sahara in 1975, a major war erupted as Sahrawi nationalists -
organized by the POLISARIO front - engaged in guerrilla warfare
against Moroccan armed forces deployed to secure the northern part
of the country, and Mauritanian forces deployed in the south.
Characteristically for this period, POLISARIO's insurgency was
often misinterpreted in the West as 'Soviet-influenced', although
the rebels never adapted any related frameworks for their
operations and tactics, such as those of Mao Zedong. On the
contrary, while Algeria at least tolerated their bases on its soil,
it was Libya that provided most of the support for the insurgency,
eventually enabling it to defeat the Mauritanian military, slightly
over a year later. Combined with POLISARIO's raids deep into
Mauritania this prompted France to launch a limited military
intervention in support. While tactically successful, this proved
insufficient: Mauritania withdrew in 1979 after signing a peace
treaty. Morocco continued fighting a series of bitter campaigns
through 1979 and 1980, until rising costs and casualties prompted
its government into developing an entirely new strategy.
Construction of extensive earthen fortifications eventually slowed
the war down to one of low intensity, only sporadically interrupted
by insurgent attempts to achieve at least local successes. With
both sides realizing that no solution through an armed conflict was
possible, a cease-fire agreement was signed in 1991. However, this
conflict still remains unresolved: it merely shifted to civilian
resistance. Warfare in Western Sahara has in many ways become
exemplary for modern-day counter-insurgency efforts in Africa and
elsewhere. This conflict has been falsely declared as a part of
some larger, external conflict - the Cold War; in regards of the
concept of an insurgency applying motorized forces to deliver often
spectacular 'hit-and-run' attacks; and in regards of a conventional
military reacting with a combination of earth berms and air power.
Illustrated by over 100 photograph as, a dozen maps and 18 colour
profiles, Showdown in Western Sahara offers a fascinating study of
the military aspects of this conflict, warfare strategies, tactics
and experiences with different weapons systems.
Drawing on a wide range of Vietnamese-language sources, the author
presents a detailed account of the continuing efforts of North
Vietnam to invade the South, enlivened by a large number of
previously unpublished photographs, and colour profiles for
modellers. A year after the Paris peace accord had been signed, on
17 January 1973, peace had not been settled in Vietnam. During that
period, the North Vietnamese continued their attacks now that the
United States had pulled out completely their forces, with the
definitive conquest of South Vietnam as the goal. The South
Vietnamese forces' erosion on the field increased in face of a
series of concerted North Vietnamese offensives at Corps level. The
drastic American aid reduction began to impact heavily on the South
Vietnamese ability to wage war. Equally, Saigon could not respond
to a Chinese invasion of the Paracel Islands after a brief naval
battle, and if Hanoi had been bolstered by massive deliveries of
equipment from Peking and Moscow, both the Chinese and the Soviet
had withheld the delivery of sufficient ammunitions for the
artillery and the tanks, to deter the North Vietnamese from
attempting a new widescale offensive against the South. It was with
these constraints that the North Vietnamese leadership planned
their new campaign, initially expecting it to take 2 to 3 years. A
last test had to be done in order to assess the American intentions
in case of an all-out North Vietnamese offensive against the South
- if a South Vietnamese provincial capital was taken without
American reaction, then Hanoi would begin the last campaign of the
war. After the fall of Phuoc Long, the North Vietnamese decided to
attack the strategic Central Highlands area where they hoped to
destroy the greater part of an ARVN Corps. The battle of Ban Me
Thuout would be the pivotal event leading to the rapid collapse of
South Vietnam. While the battle was going on, without taking
advices from his generals, President Nguyen Van Thieu of South
Vietnam decided to take radical measures by redeploying his forces.
That meant abandoning no less than half of the country, in order to
shorter his logistic communication lines and to concentrate his
remaining depleted forces around Saigon and the Mekong Delta area.
He probably also hoped that by aggravating the military situation
he would force Washington to fulfil its promise that "in case of
massive violation of the cease-fire", the Americans would resume
their military aid and would send back the B-52s.
On 30 March 1972 the South Vietnamese positions along the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated the North from South
Vietnam were suddenly shelled by hundreds of heavy guns and
multiple rocket launchers. Caught in a series of outposts of what
was the former 'McNamara Line', the shocked defenders had just
enough time to emerge from their bunkers at the end of the barrage
before they were attacked by regular North Vietnamese Army
divisions, supported by hundreds of armoured vehicles that crashed
though their defensive lines along the border. Thus began one of
the fiercest campaigns of the Vietnam War but also one of the less
well documented because by then most of the American ground forces
had been withdrawn. Following on from the details of the downsizing
of American forces and the setting up of the'Vietnamization'
policy, the build up of both the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) in the South and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the
North is discussed at length. A special emphasis is devoted to the
study of the development the North Vietnamese armoured corps that
would spearhead the coming offensive. Consequently, the nature of
the war changed dramatically, evolving from a guerrilla one into a
conventional conflict. The South Vietnamese resistance shuddered,
and then crumbled under the communist onslaught, putting Hue the
ancient imperial capital at risk. It was only thanks to US
airpower, directed by a small group of courageous American
advisers, which helped to turn the tide. Under the command of a new
capable commander, the South Vietnamese then methodically
counterattacked to retake some of the lost ground. This culminated
in the ferocious street fighting for Quang Tri. This first volume
describes the combat taking place in the northern part of South
Vietnam, and uses not only American archives but also Vietnamese
sources, from both sides. The book contains 130 photos, five maps
and 18 colour profiles. Asia@War - following on from our
highly-successful Africa@War series, Asia@War replicates the same
format - concise, incisive text, rare images and high quality
colour artwork providing fresh accounts of both well-known and more
esoteric aspects of conflict in this part of the world since 1945.
After 27 years of conflict it seemed that peace would finally
settle on the Indochina peninsula on 27January 1973 with the
signing of a peace accord in Paris. The North Vietnamese had
previously launched their greatest offensive against South Vietnam
but fell short of their objectives, the destruction of the Army of
the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the destruction of the Saigon
regime. They now proposed, in exchange for the release of the US
prisoners of war, the withdrawal of the remaining American forces
in Vietnam. Far from feeling committed by the agreement, the Hanoi
leadership prepared the next round, the ultimate conquest of South
Vietnam now that Washington had completely evacuated its last
troops from the country. That first volume sets the scene, by
making an assessment of the situation on the field, in both
tactical and strategic perspectives. It also examines the last
episode of the US gradual withdrawal as well as the implementation
of part of the Peace Accords with the removal by the US Navy of the
mines sown by its aircraft from the North Vietnamese ports and
inland waters. It then presents the respective opposing armed
forces and will particularly focus on the North Vietnamese
rebuilding after the havoc wrought by the American aerial campaign
of 1972. Furthermore, the expansion of the famous Ho Chi Minh
Trail, vital for the logistical support of the communist troops, is
thoroughly detailed. The South Vietnamese on their part placed
great emphasis on developing their own air force in order to try to
replace the withdrawal of American airpower. Most at all, it also
details the initial fighting that not only resumed but soon
escalated into divisional-level battles where the South Vietnamese
still prevailed.
Confrontations between Libya, and the USA and France reached their
highest point in the period between April 1986 and early 1989. In
response to a Libyan-instigated and supported series of terror
attacks against US citizens and interests in Europe, in April 1986
the USA launched Operation El Dorado Canoyon - a series of raids
against carefully selected targets in Libya. Simultaneously, the
USA and France bolstered the military of the Chadian government,
enabling it to subsequently launch an all-out advance against
Libyan troops and proxy forces in the north of Libya. This
culminated in the series of spectacular campaigns better known as
'Toyota Wars', characterised by high speed of operations and
surprise. The Chadian Army defeated its opponents in 1987 and
nearly launched an invasion of Libya in 1988, successfully
concluding this conflict. This title closes the Libyan Air Wars
mini-series with a detailed insight into the final US-Libyan
confrontation, which took place in early 1989, and culminated in
another high-profile air combat between the most modern jet
fighters of the Libyan Arab Air Force, and the US Navy. As usual,
the volume is richly illustrated by well over 150 contemporary and
exclusive photographs, colour profiles, and maps, detailing the
history, training, equipment, markings and tactics of the involved
air forces.
While the first volume in this mini-series spanned the first decade
of confrontations between Libya and several of its neighbours, but
foremost the USA and France, between 1973 and 1985, the second is
to cover the period of less than a year - between mid-1985 and
March 1986, when this confrontation reached its first climax.
Through mid and late 1985, relations between France and Libya
became tense over the situation in Chad. By early 1986, the French
felt forced to deploy their air force for an airstrike on the
crucial Libyan air base at Wadi Doum, in the north of that country.
Tripoli reacted with a high-profile aerial attack on N'Djamena IAP
and by bolstering support for its proxies. This eventually provoked
Paris to launch its third military intervention in that country,
OperationEpervier. Meanwhile, a series of terror attacks on US
citizens and interests in Europe and the Mediterranean area took
place. While most of these saw the involvement of Iran and Syria
too, Libya was recognized as major supporter of the activities in
question. In the aftermath of several traumatic experiences, the US
administration began planning for direct action against the
government in Tripoli and various terrorist organizations supported
by it. As the Pentagon planners prepared a contingency list of
targets in Libya, and the US Air Force began planning its
involvement, ships and aircraft of the US Navy launched intensive
operations off the Libyan coast with the aim of provoking an
incident that could be used as a reason for major military attack
on Libya. Eventually, these operations culminated in Operation
Prairie Fire- a series of short but sharp clashes between the US
Navy and Libyan air defences and the Navy, in March 1986. Part 2 of
this mini-series provides an unprecedentedly detailed and richly
illustrated description of the involved air forces, their equipment
and markings, and related military aerial operations, many of which
have remained unknown until today, while others have been forgotten
outright.
Between 1973 and 1989, various Western powers and Libya were
entangled in a seemingly never-ending exchange of blows. Supposedly
launched in retaliation for one action or the other, this
confrontation resulted in a number of high-profile, even though
low-scale, clashes between the Libyan Arab Air Force (LAAF), the US
Navy and even the French. Meanwhile, almost as a sideshow, the LAAF
– quantitatively one of the most potent air forces in North Africa
and the Middle East – also saw intensive deployment in Chad.
Initially, with sporadic fighting between different parties for the
control of N’Djamena, the Chadian capital, this conflict eventually
turned into a major war when Libya invaded the country outright.
The LAAF deployed not only French-made Mirage but also Soviet made
fighter-bombers of MiG and Sukhoi design, Mil-designed helicopters
and even bombers of Tupolev design, to establish her dominance over
the extensive battlefield of the Sahara Desert. Because of the Cold
War but also due to confrontation with Libya over a number of other
issues, France – a one-time major arms supplier to Libya – and the
USA gradually got dragged into the war. Deployments of their troops
and intelligence services in Chad, Egypt and the Sudan never
resulted in a full-scale war against Libya, but time and again
culminated in small-scale aerial operations that proved crucial to
developments on the ground, several of which are still a matter of
extensive debate. Detailing not only the aerial operations but the
ground war and the geo-political background of these conflicts, and
illustrated with over 100 contemporary photographs, maps and
all-new colour profiles, this volume provides a unique insight into
an otherwise completely forgotten conflict that raged from the
skies over the southern Mediterranean to southern Chad and northern
Sudan, yet one that not only represented a formative period of the
LAAF, but which also prompted a number of crucial modifications and
developments in France and the USA.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|