Britain’s vast losses of men in the first world war produced a revulsion against conscription. Originally published in 1972, Peter Dennis here describes how conscription was introduced once more in 1939, when pressure from within Britain and from France forced the British Government to reverse its position. With the use of original sources, Peter Dennis explores the development of British military policy between the wars, from the period of readjustment and realignment immediately after the first world war, up to the breakdown of the Chamberlain government’s pledge not to introduce conscription in peacetime. He points out that the politicians and the public were not afraid of conscription itself, but of conscription in peacetime as the forerunner of continental military adventures in alliance with France. He shows how the battles over conscription had a marked effect on the indecision of military thinking, and how, in 1939, conscription finally became the crucial issue in Britain’s preparation for war.

Originally published in 1976, this book honours the centenary of The Royal Military College of Canada, 1876-1976. It comprises nine essays written by military historians who have been or still are in some way, as staff and students, connected with RMC since 1948. The essays range in time from the American invasion of Canada in 1775 to Hungary on the eve of the Second World War, and in place, from Upper Canada to the North West Frontier of India. The theme running through the book is the problem of civil-military relations and how this has been faced in Canada in the nineteenth century, in the defence of India in the nineteenth century and in the First World War and post-war period in Great Britain and Hungary.

'The Duke is a soldier - a bad education for a statesmen in a free country'. Sir Walter Scott's fear of the political soldier has long been part of Western political life. Yet although many countries would have preferred to keep the military out of politics few have been successful. Originally published in 1976, this book examines the careers of five distinguished twentieth century soldiers and assesses their contribution as statesmen. Hindenburg, Byng, Franco, Eisenhower and De Gaulle all came into political life in different circumstances, but none did so in the name of the profession or to establish a praetorian state. Each was a professional soldier who found himself drawn into the political arena. Each of these essays illuminates one aspect of the range of political, sociological and historical issues which now surround the interrelationship of civil and military. At a time when the tensions of democracy, both internally and externally, impose increasing pressure on the role of the military in society it is important to study the history of soldiers-as-statesmen.

A supplement for the award-winning World War II wargame, Bolt Action, focusing on the Axis offensives through Eastern Ukraine and into the North Caucasus. After the failure of Barbarossa to utterly defeat the Soviet Union, a new plan was devised, Case Blue. This plan involved pushing through the southern Soviet Union to reach the Caucasus and secure the oil fields that Germany so desperately needed. While initially there was great success and sweeping advances as the autumn began, the Axis advances began to falter in the wake of Soviet resistance and counter attacks, culminating the battles in and around Stalingrad. This Campaign Book for Bolt Action contains new linked scenarios, rules, troop types, and Theatre Selectors, providing plenty of options for novice and veteran players alike.

'The Duke is a soldier - a bad education for a statesmen in a free country'. Sir Walter Scott's fear of the political soldier has long been part of Western political life. Yet although many countries would have preferred to keep the military out of politics few have been successful. Originally published in 1976, this book examines the careers of five distinguished twentieth century soldiers and assesses their contribution as statesmen. Hindenburg, Byng, Franco, Eisenhower and De Gaulle all came into political life in different circumstances, but none did so in the name of the profession or to establish a praetorian state. Each was a professional soldier who found himself drawn into the political arena. Each of these essays illuminates one aspect of the range of political, sociological and historical issues which now surround the interrelationship of civil and military. At a time when the tensions of democracy, both internally and externally, impose increasing pressure on the role of the military in society it is important to study the history of soldiers-as-statesmen.

When the Romans occupied the southern half of Britain in AD 43, the Iceni tribe quickly allied themselves with the invaders. Having paid tribute to Rome, they continued to be ruled by their own kings. But 17 years later, when Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni, died, the Romans decided to incorporate his kingdom into the new province. When his widow Boudicca protested, she "was flogged and their daughters raped," sparking one of the most famous rebellions in history. This book tells how Boudicca raised her people and other tribes in revolt, overran the provincial towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans), destroyed the IX Legion, and nearly took control of the fledgling Roman province, before being finally brought to heel in a pitched battle at Mancetter.

A new supplement for Bolt Action focusing on the later Italian Campaign, following on from Soft Underbelly, adding new units, scenarios, and special rules. In Italy, the fight continues! As the Allies push north up the Italian Peninsula, they have encountered heavy resistance from the Axis and their multitude of fortified and defensive lines, slowing the allied advance to a crawl. The ‘soft underbelly’ of Europe proved to be false, instead it was a ‘tough gut’. This supplement for Bolt Action, and the counterpart to Soft Underbelly, focuses on the battles ranging from the Gustav Line in 1944 all the way to those of the Gothic Line in 1945, with the breakouts at Anzio and Monte Cassino of particular focus. Containing a host of scenarios to refight these famous battles, along with new units, special rules, and Theatre Selectors, this book contains everything players need to bring an end to the war and liberate Italy.

Britain's vast losses of men in the first world war produced a revulsion against conscription. Originally published in 1972, Peter Dennis here describes how conscription was introduced once more in 1939, when pressure from within Britain and from France forced the British Government to reverse its position. With the use of original sources, Peter Dennis explores the development of British military policy between the wars, from the period of readjustment and realignment immediately after the first world war, up to the breakdown of the Chamberlain government's pledge not to introduce conscription in peacetime. He points out that the politicians and the public were not afraid of conscription itself, but of conscription in peacetime as the forerunner of continental military adventures in alliance with France. He shows how the battles over conscription had a marked effect on the indecision of military thinking, and how, in 1939, conscription finally became the crucial issue in Britain's preparation for war.

Originally published in 1976, this book honours the centenary of The Royal Military College of Canada, 1876-1976. It comprises nine essays written by military historians who have been or still are in some way, as staff and students, connected with RMC since 1948. The essays range in time from the American invasion of Canada in 1775 to Hungary on the eve of the Second World War, and in place, from Upper Canada to the North West Frontier of India. The theme running through the book is the problem of civil-military relations and how this has been faced in Canada in the nineteenth century, in the defence of India in the nineteenth century and in the First World War and post-war period in Great Britain and Hungary.

In March 1944, the Japanese Army launched Operation U-Go, an attack on Assam in India intended to inspire a rising against British rule. A month earlier the Japanese had launched Operation Ha-Go, which was intended as a feint to draw British attention away from the Imphal area. But British forces employed new defensive techniques to counter the Japanese infiltration tactics. These tactics were again employed on a larger scale when Imphal and Kohima were surrounded during Operation U-Go. Kohima took place in two stages. From 3 to 16 April, the Japanese attempted to capture Kohima Ridge. As the small garrison held out against fierce and repeatedly desperate attempts by the Japanese 31st Division to destroy them, so the British 2nd Division fought to break through and relieve them. Then for over two months British and Indian troops counter-attacked to drive the Japanese from the positions they had already captured. The battle ended on June 22 when British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, thus ending the siege.

The battle of Borodino was one of the greatest encounters in European history, and one of the largest and most sanguinary in the Napoleonic Wars. Following the breakdown of relations between Russia and France, Napoleon assembled a vast Grande Armee drawn from the many states within the French sphere of influence. They crossed the river Neimen and entered Russian territory in June 1812 with the aim of inflicting a sharp defeat on the Tsar's forces and bringing the Russians back into line. In a bloody battle of head-on attacks and desperate counter-attacks in the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812, both sides lost about a third of their men, with the Russians forced to withdraw and abandon Moscow to the French. However, the Grande Armee was harassed by Russian troops all the way back and was destroyed by the retreat. The greatest army Napoleon had ever commanded was reduced to a shadow of frozen, starving fugitives. This title will cover the events of Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812 in its entirety, with the set-piece battle of Borodino proving the focal point of the book.

Osprey's study of a battle that was part of a triple conflict: the Polish-Ottoman War (1683-1699), the Great Turkish War (1667-1698), and the Ottoman Hapsburg Wars (1526-1791). The capture of the Hapsburg city of Vienna was a major strategic aspiration for the Islamic Ottoman Empire, desperate for the control that the city exercised over the Danube and the overland trade routes between southern and northern Europe. In July 1683 Sultan Mehmet IV proclaimed a jihad and the Turkish grand vizier, Kara Mustafa Pasha, laid siege to the city with an army of 150,000 men. In September a relieving force arrived under Polish command and joined up with the defenders to drive the Turks away. The main focus of this book is the final 15-hour battle for Vienna, which climaxed with a massive charge by three divisions of Polish winged hussars. This hard-won victory marked the beginning of the decline of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which was never to threaten central Europe again.

While many nations flocked to the side of the Allies, others joined forces with Germany as part of the Axis. This volume is the definitive guide to the armies of Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland. Refight the Winter War against the Soviets, hold back the British in North Africa, or help shore up the German offensives on the Eastern Front with this latest supplement for 'Bolt Action.'

This book provides Bolt Action players with all of the information they need to field the military forces of the Soviet Union. From the bitter urban warfare of Stalingrad, through the Winter War against Finland and the final drive to Berlin, the detailed army lists provided in this supplement allow players to construct Soviet armies for any theatre and any year of the war.

The breech-loading, single-shot .458in Martini-Henry rifle has become a symbol of both the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the numerous battles in Egypt and the Sudan in 1884-85, but continued to be used by both British and colonial troops well into the 20th century. Its invention and introduction into British service were in direct response to the success of the Prussian Dreyse needle gun, which demonstrated that the breech-loading rifle offered faster loading, improved accuracy and superior range; significantly, the weapon could be loaded and fired from a prone position, thus offering the rifleman greater security on the battlefield. Due to the longevity of service, many Martini-Henry rifles survive today, both in museums and in private collections, and the weapon is highly prized by shooting enthusiasts. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and an array of arresting first-hand accounts and written by an authority on warfare in the Victorian era, this engaging study tells the story of the powerful Martini-Henry and its impact on the battlefield, from the Anglo-Zulu War to the opening months of World War I.

With this latest supplement for Bolt Action, players now have all the information they need to field the varied military forces of the United States of America. Entering the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States immediately went to war on several fronts. In Europe and Africa, the Americans battled against the Germans and Italians, while in the Pacific the soldiers of the Army and Marines faced the forces of Imperial Japan. This book allows players to choose from dozens of different troop types including Sherman tanks, Marine raiders, and paratroopers, and build a US force to fight in any theatre of the war.

When Jim Hawkins sets sail searching for buried treasure and adventure, he finds himself caught up in a deadly mutiny where he must outwit the cunning pirate Long John Silver in order to stay alive . The classic adventure story by Robert Louis Stevenson retold for children growing in reading confidence and ability. Usborne Young Reading has been developed with reading experts from Roehampton University. Also available with an audio CD with a dramatic listen-along recording with music and sound effects, followed by a read-along version with prompts for page turns.

With the Axis Powers ejected from North Africa, the Western Allies look to take the fight across the Mediterranean and into Mussolini's Italy. This supplement for Bolt Action focuses on Operation Husky, the airborne and naval invasion of Sicily, the hard-fought battles in the villages and rugged mountain passes of that island, and the advance up the Italian Peninsula towards Rome. With a host of scenarios, new units, special rules, and Theatre Selectors this book contains everything players need to refight these important battles in defence of the Regno d'Italia or to strike at the underbelly of Axis-controlled Europe.

Osprey's study of one of the most important battles of the long-elasting Germanic Wars (113 BC - 439 AD). Arminius, a young member of the Cheruscan tribe under the Roman Empire felt that Rome could be beaten in battle and that such a victory would guarantee the freedom of the Germans as a confederation of independent tribes, led by the Cheruscans, who would - in turn - be led by him.
Throughout AD 8 and the early part of AD 9, Arminius used his position under the governor of Germania Inferior well, ostensibly promoting Rome whilst in reality welding the tribes together in an anti-Roman alliance, agreeing with his confederates that they would wait until the Roman garrison had moved to their summer quarters and then rise up against the invaders. With the arrival of September, the time soon came for the Roman troops to return to their stations along the Rhine and as they marched westwards through the almost impenetrable Teutoburg Forest, Arminius sprang his trap. In a series of running battles in the forest, Varus' army, consisting of three Roman Legions (XVII, XVIII and XIX) and several thousand auxiliaries - a total of roughly 20,000 men - was destroyed.
The consequences for Rome were enormous - the province of Germania was now virtually undefended and Gaul was open to a German invasion which although it never materialized, led a traumatized Augustus to decree that, henceforth, the Rhine would remain the demarcation line between the Roman world and the German tribes, in addition to which the destroyed legions were never re-formed or their numbers reused in the Roman Army: after AD 9, the sequence of numbers would run from I to XVI and then from XX onwards, it was as if the three legions had never existed.

The Webley .455in service revolver is among the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced and has a claim to be the first 'tactical fighting pistol'. First adopted in 1887, in various marques it was the standard-issue service pistol for British and Commonwealth armed forces for nearly fifty years; later versions in .38in calibre went on to see further service in World War II and beyond, as well as in a host of law-enforcement roles around the world into the 1970s.
Developed to give British service personnel the ability to incapacitate their opponents in 'small wars' around the globe, the Webley used the formidable - and controversial - .455in cartridge, a variant of which was known as the 'manstopper'. Users found it offered good penetration and excellent stopping power with only mild recoil - indeed, it was rated superior to the US .45 Colt in stopping power.
Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, this is the compelling story of the Webley revolver, the powerful pistol that saw service across the British Empire and throughout two world wars.

After the historic D-Day landings comes the fight to liberate France and the rest of Occupied Europe. This campaign book focuses on the push inland from the Commonwealth beaches of Gold, Sword, and Juno culminating with the battle for Caen and the Falaise Pocket. Containing new scenarios, Theatre Selectors, and units, including rules for the Canadian Army in Europe and their adversaries, this book has everything players need to continue the liberation of Europe.

A re-telling of the classic Jonathan Swift story told for children growing in reading confidence and ability. Gulliver sets off on the adventure of a lifetime - and meets miniature people, civil war and a price upon his head. Will he make it back in one piece? Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton. Also available with an audio CD with a dramatic listen-along recording with music and sound effects, followed by a read-along version with prompts for page turns.

An important aspect of the Russian Civil War were the several Allied expeditions immediately following World War I in support of the disunited Russian 'White' armies resisting the Bolshevik Revolution. Although they ended in failure, these ventures were long resented, and were the origin of the 70-year-long Soviet suspicion of the Western Allies. British and US expeditionary forces operated in North Russia and Siberia in support of General Yudenich and Admiral Kolchak respectively, and a French and Greek expeditionary force (plus Romanian and Polish elements) operated in Crimea and south-western Ukraine, in support of General Denikin. The situation was further complicated by the presence of strong Imperial German elements still under arms, and by war between various factions in the Ukraine. This Southern theatre of the Allied interventions is far less well known than that of the British and Americans in the North and East. Featuring rare photos and new colour plates, this fascinating new book describes this major Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. Dr Phoebus Athanassiou writes a compelling account of how the French and Greeks alongside White Russians were greatly outnumbered by pro-Bolshevik forces and were relentlessly pushed back by the Ukrainian forces. In just over 4 months, on 28 April 1919, the last of their forces were evacuated by Allied navies from Sevastopol in Crimea.

The daring and bold adventures of King Arthur told for children growing in reading confidence and ability. When Arthur pulls a sword from a stone, he is proclaimed King of Britain. However many challenges lie ahead, including treacherous knights, a mysterious lady in a lake and a fight for his kingdom. Vividly illustrated by Peter Dennis. Usborne Young Reading has been developed with reading experts from Roehampton University.

Adopted in 1938 and remaining in British service until 1991, the popular and reliable Bren was an iconic light machine gun, and arguably the most recognizable Commonwealth weapon of World War ll. Gas-operated and magazine-fed, it was based on a Czech design and was issued in large numbers during and after World War ll, as a section-level automatic weapon. Offering remarkable accuracy for an LMG, the Bren had an effective range of 600 yards, but could reach out to over 1,500 yards. It was generally fired from the prone position using a bipod, but could be fired from the hip when necessary. If kept clean, the Bren gave a reliable service in the harshest of environments, from the deserts of Libya to the Korean mountains in winter. As well as widespread infantry use, the Bren was widely supplied to resistance movements in Occupied Europe. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and based on meticulous research, this is an engaging story of the iconic light machine gun that equipped British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and in a host of postwar conflicts, right up to the Falklands and beyond.