It is 1914 and Lieutenant T.O.M. Gunn, Tommy Gunn to his pals, is a young infantry lieutenant in the Sherwood Foresters, just back on leave from India as war is declared in Europe. The British Expeditionary Force is off to fight in France, and Gunn is determined to join in the fray. He throws in his lot with a hastily-formed battalion of reservists, regulars and territorial soldiers who soon find themselves pitchforked into the mayhem of the Western Front. As autumn turns to winter and the men find themselves floundering in the freezing mud of the trenches and facing an implacable German foe, Tommy and his fellow soldiers begin to realise that this is going to be a long war - and they will be lucky to survive.

What does it feel like to live a lie - and betray your country? A gripping history of secret intelligenceFrom France’s brilliant female impersonator and secret agent to the infamous Cambridge spy ring, John Hughes-Wilson offers a nerve-shredding insight into the work – and treacheries – of the spies who shaped history. From WWII’s cryptography to Elizabeth I and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the hidden hand of intelligence is exposed behind every critical decision. Written by an ex-intelligence officer, The Puppet Masters lifts the veil on the role of spying and intelligence in the great events of history with thrilling clarity. Perfect for readers of Ben Macintyre. ‘John Hughes-Wilson has a lively pen and an eye for a good anecdote… an enjoyable romp through world history’ The Sunday Telegraph ‘A powerful book… there should be a well-thumbed copy of this book on every general’s bedside table…’ The Spectator

This Report contains a Consensus Report and the papers submitted to the April 6 -10, 1995 NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Strategic Stability In The Post-Cold War World And The Future Of Nuclear Disarmament, held in Washington D. C., United States Of America of at The Airlie Conference Center. The workshop was sponsored by the NATO Division Scientific and Environmental Affairs as part of its ongoing outreach programme to widen and deepen scientific contacts between NATO member countries and the Cooperation Partner countries of the former Warsaw Treaty Organization. The participants recognize that the collapse of the former Soviet Union has left a conceptual vacuum in the definition of a new world order. Never before have the components of world order all changed so rapidly, so deeply, or so globally. As Henry Kissinger points out, the emergence of the new world order will have answered three fundamental questions: " What are the basic units of the international order? What are their means of interacting? and What are the goals on behalf of which they interact? " The main question is whether the establishment and maintenance of an international system will turn out to be a conscious design, or the outgrowth of a test of strength. The concept of a planning framework that could shape or govern these interactions is emerging and may now be at hand. Capturing this emerging framework is the thrust of this NATO-sponsored Advanced Research Workshop.

The contributors to Strategic Stability in the Post-Cold War World and the Future of Nuclear Disarmament recognize that the collapse of the former Soviet Union has left a conceptual vacuum in the definition of a new world order. Never before have the components of world order all changed so rapidly, so deeply, or so globally. As Henry Kissinger points out, the emergence of a new world order will have to confront three fundamental questions: What are the basic units of the international order? What are their means of interacting? and What are the goals on behalf of which they interact? The main question is whether the establishment and maintenance of an international system will turn out to be a conscious design, or the outgrowth of a trial of strength. The concept of a planning framework that could shape or govern these interactions is emerging and may now be at hand. Capturing this emerging framework is the thrust of the present book, which seeks to reach a consensus on defining a model (calculus) for strategic stability in a changing, multipolar world in the presence of weapons of mass destruction - the model being the core of a conscious design to shape or govern the interactions of nation states in a new world order. The following taxonomy of the dimensions of strategic stability was accepted by the contributors as the first step towards such a model: Stability in geopolitics and balance of power; Arms race stability; Deterrence stability, crisis stability, first strike stability; Stability in the presence of clandestine proliferation. After four gruelling days, this unprecedented gathering of top academic, scientific and military experts from the USA, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, and Israel reached a general agreement that is captured in the Consensus Report; each participant presented an individual contribution that further fleshes out the dimensions of strategic stability. This unprecedented work provides joint concepts for all leaders of the nuclear powers to shape their decisions for the coming decades. And for the first time they can base their decisions on agreed scientific facts, not just political judgments.

This book is a professional military-intelligence officer's and a controversial insider's view of some of the greatest intelligence blunders of recent history. It includes the serious developments in government misuse of intelligence in the recent war with Iraq. Colonel John Hughes-Wilson analyses not just the events that conspire to cause disaster, but why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike. This book analyses: how Hitler's intelligence staff misled him in a bid to outfox their Nazi Party rivals; the bureaucratic bungling behind Pearl Harbor; how in-fighting within American intelligence ensured they were taken off guard by the Viet Cong's 1968 Tet Offensive; how over confidence, political interference and deception facilitated Egypt and Syria's 1973 surprise attack on Israel; why a handful of marines and a London taxicab were all Britain had to defend the Falklands; the mistaken intelligence that allowed Saddam Hussein to remain in power until the second Iraq War of 2003; the truth behind the US failure to run a terrorist warning system before the 9/11 WTC bombing; and how governments are increasingly pressurising intelligence agencies to 'spin' the party-political line.

'A cracking good read... I will recommend this book to anyone' - Professor Richard Holmes, CBE 'The Falklands, Yom Kippur, Tet and Pearl Harbor? Avoidable intelligence blunders or much worse? Altogether a compelling read from someone who knows the business' - Nigel West This book is a professional military-intelligence officer's - and controversial insider's - view of some of the greatest intelligence blunders of recent history. It includes the serious developments in government misuse of intelligence in the US-led coalition's 2003 war with Iraq, as well as failures of intelligence in Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February 2022. Colonel John Hughes-Wilson analyses not just the events that conspire to cause disaster, but why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike. This book analyses: how Hitler's intelligence staff misled him in a bid to outfox their Nazi Party rivals; the bureaucratic bungling behind Pearl Harbor; how in-fighting within American intelligence ensured they were taken off guard by the Viet Cong's 1968 Tet Offensive; how overconfidence, political interference and deception facilitated Egypt and Syria's 1973 surprise attack on Israel; why a handful of marines and a London taxicab were all Britain had to defend the Falklands; the mistaken intelligence that allowed Saddam Hussein to remain in power until the second Iraq War of 2003; the truth behind the US failure to run a terrorist warning system before the 9/11 WTC bombing; and how governments are increasingly pressurising intelligence agencies to 'spin' a party-political line.

The definitive history of the British soldiers executed by their own Army during the First World War. Three hundred and fifty-one men were executed by British Army firing squads between September 1914 and November 1920. By far the greatest number, 266 were shot for desertion in the face of the enemy. The executions continue to haunt the history of the war, with talk today of shell shock and posthumous pardons. Using new material released from the Public Records Office and other sources, the authors reveal what really happened and place the story of these executions firmly in the context of the military, social and medical context of the period.

The secret world of military intelligence - written by a senior intelligence officer John Hughes-Wilson is a former intelligence officer and is ideally placed to reveal the secret history of military intelligence. He takes us 'behind the scenes' of military and political events from Elizabeth I to Osama bin Laden and the crisis in the Middle East. The book is divided into three parts. The first investigates some famous disasters when lack of intelligence was the decisive factor, e.g. Gallipoli and Dieppe. The second examines some equally famous examples of good intelligence being overlooked or ignored, e.g. the 'bridge too far' battle of Arnhem. The last part goes behind the scenes of some famous successes, from the capture of Slobodan Milosevic to the defeat of IRA bombing campaigns and the arrest of a spy ring at the heart of NATO.

The Cold War was an undeclared war, fought silently and carefully between ideological opponents armed with the most fearsome weapons mankind has ever seen. Hughes-Wilson takes a cool look at this war, from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the USSR thereafter. He examines the suspicion and paranoia -- on both sides -- of the greatest stand-off in history. Written by one of Britain's leading, popular, military historians, this book makes accessible for the first time one of the key periods to shape our world.

US President Harry Truman evidently understood the terrifying power of atomic weaponry, but no one could have realised its full potential when he ordered the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Those military attacks, along with the disasters at the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear reactors, might spring to mind at the mention of nuclear destruction, but the majority of the events recorded in this book are entirely unknown to most people. This book records the facts - many of them still shrouded in secrecy - which show a worrying truth: we have teetered precariously on the brink of Armageddon far more frequently than the general public realises. Since that first and last atomic war in 1945, there have been a terrifying number of nuclear accidents and mishaps, from the careless or accidental to the genuinely intentional and only narrowly averted. Despite the catastrophic nature of any nuclear conflict, we have come to the very borders of such a situation eight times since the 1960s. These were potential conflicts, but there have been other accidents, such as the reactor meltdown at the nuclear generating plant at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, in 1979, or the 'Palomares Incident' in 1966, when a USAF B-52 bomber crashed after a mid-air collision, dropping four hydrogen bombs on Spanish soil . . . Eve of Destruction is a warning from recent history. It is a call to sit up and listen, and to take note of the very real danger of nuclear catastrophe. It is a timely and important book because, after all, the future of our planet has to concern us all.

In mid summer 1918 the First World War was still finely balanced. A top secret mission, which has remained classified information for a century, was set in motion to kill Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was felt that by killing their head of state and commander in chief it would serve as a mortal blow to the German forces and they would collapse very quickly after the assassination. In 2002 one of the participants on a battlefield tour sent a disc to Col. John Hughes- Wilson. On it was an historical treasure trove containing a Royal Flying Corps log book and photographs of service with 25 Squadron. Included among the effects of Lt A.R.Watts MC, of the newly formed Royal Air Force, was the breath-taking claim that he had taken part in a secret British mission to kill the Kaiser. This extraordinary secret was confirmed by further research at the RAF museum and the RAF Historical Branch. This startling but never before revealed story was true. On 2nd June 1918, at the height of the final German attack of WW1, the British RAF tried to assassinate the Kaiser when he was visiting a chateau near the front. The facts are borne out in never-before-published notebooks, maps and pilots' flying records, kept secret for a hundred years. Copies of these records are in the author's possession and are backed up by details tucked away in 25 Squadron's records. But the implications of this secret attack raise many new - and explosive - questions. Exactly who ordered an attack to kill the Kaiser? Was it sanctioned by the C-in-C, Sir Douglas Haig? By the War Office? Unlikely. Was the King informed of the attempt to kill his royal cousin? Was Lloyd George, the Prime Minister asked? We do not know; but someone in London must have sanctioned the attack. The Official History makes no mention of any attack, and public records say nothing. Even the RAF Museum has no official record: but the attack really did take place, of that there is no doubt. Other documents and various 25 Squadron log books prove it. So someone did give an order to kill the Kaiser. But who? John Hughes-Wilson has woven an exciting and well-paced historical novel to mark this centennial event from the research on discovering this mission. The story, based on true events, looks at this long hidden secret and puts it into the context of the time. It explores areas rarely examined: secret service operations in 1914-18; dirty, undercover intelligence work; the very real political intrigues between Whitehall and the generals and the heroics of the aircrew of the day, whose life expectancy at one point in 1917 was only eleven days in action.

US President Harry Truman evidently understood the terrifying power of atomic weaponry, but no one could have realised its full potential when he ordered the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Those military attacks, along with the disasters at the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear reactors, might come to mind at the mention of nuclear destruction, but the majority of the events recorded in this book are entirely unknown to most people. This book records the facts - many of them still shrouded in secrecy - which show a worrying truth: we have teetered precariously on the brink of Armageddon far more frequently than the general public realises. Since that first and last atomic war in 1945, there have been a terrifying number of nuclear accidents and mishaps, from the careless or accidental to the genuinely intentional and only narrowly averted. Despite the catastrophic nature of any nuclear conflict, we have come to the very borders of such a situation eight times since the 1960s. These were potential conflicts, but there have been other accidents, such as the reactor meltdown at the nuclear generating plant at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, in 1979, or the 'Palomares Incident' in 1966, when a USAF B-52 bomber crashed after a mid-air collision, dropping four hydrogen bombs on Spanish soil . . . Eve of Destruction is a warning from history - recent history. It is a call to sit up and listen, and to take note of the very real danger of nuclear catastrophe. It is a timely and important book because, after all, the future of our planet has to concern us all.

The book that gives an insider's view of some of the great intelligence blunders of recent history. Including Stalin's Operation Barbarossa, Hitler being misled by his own intelligence staff, the bungling that enabled an attack on Pearl Harbor, lack of preparation for the Viet Cong's offensive 1968, Arab Israeli war 1973, Falkland Islands, Gulf War 1991...New material to include: The US failure to run warning system before 9/11; the War on Terrorism; the Islamic Terrorist threat; mis-use of intelligence by UK government in War with Iraq; intelligence problems of Middle East; challenges of 21st century.