When the Soviet Union invaded Finland in late 1939, what transpired was a true “David and Goliath� conflict. When Finland refused a number of Soviet demands, including the ceding of substantial border territories ostensibly to enable the Soviets to protect Leningrad, the Soviets responded by launching an invasion. The invasion involved a large Soviet army, with several thousand tanks, and a large air force. But to the world's surprise the Finnish Army - many of them reservists without proper uniforms and limited ammunition - and Air Force battled overwhelming odds, and managed to resist Russian attacks for over two months, inflicting serious losses. Geography played its part as much of the Finnish-Soviet border was impassable, meaning that Soviet numerical superiority was of less import. Operating in the winter, with temperatures ranging as low as -43F, the Finns’ determined resistance won them international reputation. Although hostilities finally ended in a peace treaty that saw Finland cede 9% of its territory, Soviet losses had been heavy, and Finland retained its sovereignty. This fully illustrated text will cover the forces involved and all stages of the Winter War.

During the Japanese occupation of large parts of Asia and the Pacific in 1941-45, Japan raised significant numbers of troops to fight alongside them, as well as militias to guard their conquests. The total number of these soldiers is estimated at no fewer than 600,000 men. These ranged from the regular troops of Manchukuo (200,000 men), Nanking China (250,000), Thailand, and recruits from the 'puppet' Burmese Independence Army (30,000) and Indian National Army (40,000), to constabularies and spear-wielding militias in the Philippines (15,000), Borneo, Indonesia and New Guinea. Many of the recruits from former European colonies hoped for independence as part of the 'Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere' proclaimed by Japanese propaganda, but Japan's intentions were entirely cynical. They formed alliances to deny the Allied powers access to territory that they could not actually occupy, and raised these large numbers of auxiliary troops to relieve the manpower burden of occupation, or simply as 'cannon-fodder'. This extensively researched study examines each of these armies and militias in detail, exploring their history and deployment during World War II, and revealing the intricacies of their arms and equipment with stunning full-colour artwork and previously unpublished contemporary photographs.

The Second World War Italian campaign is often less well remembered than the struggle of the Germans against the western Allies in north-west Europe and against the Soviet Union in the east. But, as this book demonstrates in over 300 photographs, the Italian peninsula was a major theatre of the war in itself. More than a million Allied troops fought there, more than half a million Germans and Italians; there were over 600,00 casualties and well over 100,000 dead. The soldiers of many nations took part - Americans, Australians, Brazilians, British, Canadians, French, Germans, Greeks, Indians, Italians, Poles, South Africans - in a gruelling and protracted sequence of battles across rocky, mountainous terrain that made a mockery of Churchill's description of it as the soft underbelly' of occupied Europe. Every stage of the campaign is represented in the photographs - from the Allied landings in Sicily in 1943, through the tenacious defence by the Germans of a series of fortified lines as the Allies struggled north, to the final Allied advance across the Po in April 1945 and the German surrender. As well as showing the soldiers on all sides and the towns and Italian landscapes in which the fighting took place, the photographs record the appalling devastation the warfare left in its wake.

This study explores the organization, history and uniforms of the Soviet Red Army during the 20 years between its victory in the Civil War and the invasion of the USSR by Germany in 1941. The two decades following the Bolshevik victory over the 'Whites' in the Russian Civil War saw widespread and fundamental developments for the Red Army. Nevertheless, these still left it largely unready to face Germany's Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. Having been reduced in size and planning for modernization, the Red Army of the 1920s was employed to ruthlessly crush anti-Bolshevik opposition (real or suspected) in several regions of the USSR, notably Ukraine and Central Asia, and to fight a brief border war against Chinese Manchuria. During the 1930s, Stalin virtually 'beheaded' the army by a needless series of murderous purges of the officer class; despite this, the Red Army was victorious in clashes against Imperial Japan in the Nomonhan region in 1938-39, where General Zhukov earned his spurs. Simultaneously, the Soviet Union sent instructors and pilots to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany allowed Stalin to take over half of Poland in September 1939; but a few months later his 'Winter War' against Finland demonstrated serious inadequacies in the Red Army's readiness for modern warfare, which would be shockingly confirmed in the first days of Operation Barbarossa. Using rare photos and detailed colour artwork, this study explores the interwar history of the Red Army, describing its campaigns, organization and uniforms, and focusing on the 20 years between its victory in the Civil War and the invasion of the USSR by Germany in 1941.

The Norwegian campaign, fought in 1940, early in the Second World War in Europe, is overshadowed by the campaign in Poland that preceded it and the German blitzkrieg in the Low Countries and France that followed, yet it was a close contest from the military point of view and it had a far-reaching impact on the rest of the war. Philip Jowett's photographic history is a vivid introduction to it. In a concise text and a selection of over 150 photographs he traces the entire course of the fighting in Norway on land, at sea and in the air. He describes how important it was for the Allies -the Norwegians, British and French -to defend northern Norway against the Germans, in particular to retain control of the strategic port of Narvik. The book documents in fascinating detail the troops involved, the aircraft and the large naval forces, and gives an insight into the main episodes in the conflict including the struggle for Narvik and the major clashes at sea which culminated in the loss of the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier Glorious. The photographs are especially valuable in that they show the harsh conditions in which the fighting took place and offer us a direct impression of the experience of the men who were there.

In 1912, the Balkan states formed an alliance in an effort to break free from the crumbling Ottoman Empire. Forming an army of some 645,000 troops from Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenego, they took on a force of 400,000 Turkish soldiers. Both sides were equipped with the latest weapons technology. This book looks at the diverse and sometimes colourful uniforms worn by both sides, paying special attention to insignia, weapons and equipment. It also gives an overview of the campaigns that became a 'priming pan' of World War I.

With decades of research to draw from Philip Jowett explores this extraordinary David-and-Goliath conflict, where the rag-tag Igbo tribal army of secessionist Biafra faced off against the Nigerian Federal forces. It was an African war that captured the attention of the western media, with individual commanders such as Biafran leader Colonel Ojukwu and Federal Colonel Adekunle becoming familiar figures across the globe. The Nigerian forces easily outnumbered their opponents and benefitted from British and Soviet equipment, yet against all the odds the Biafrans held out for two and a half years, inflicting many setbacks on the Federal forces before their eventual surrender in 1970. Specially commissioned artwork and historical photos, including some from respected Italian war photographer Romano Ganoni, reflect the diverse array of uniforms and equipment on both sides, with images ranging from Sandhurst-educated officers in immaculate uniform to ragged militiamen armed with World War II kit.

An in-depth analysis of the Chinese Armies that fought a series of increasingly fractious wars over nearly a century. Beginning with a run through of the Chinese forces that combated the British and French during the two Opium Wars, this history goes on to trace the forces who were drawn into internal wars and rebellions in the 1850s and 60s, the open warfare in North Vietnam, the string of defeats suffered during the First Sino-Japanese war and the Boxer Rebellion. Providing an unparalleled insight into the dizzying array of troop types and unique uniforms, this is a history of the sometimes-painful modernization of China's military forces during one of her most turbulent periods of history.

From the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 until the Japanese surrender in August 1945, a multitude of military and civil-defence forces strove to support the Japanese war effort and latterly prepared to defend the Home Islands against invasion. During World War II, Japan was the world's most militarized society and by 1945 nearly every Japanese male over the age of 10 wore some kind of military attire, as did the majority of women and girls. In this volume, Philip Jowett reveals the many military and civil-defence organizations active in wartime Japan, while specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen archive photographs depict the appearance of the men, women and children involved in the Japanese war effort in the Home Islands throughout World War II.

Synonymous with the starvation that killed almost two million people, Biafra was a parastate that voted to secede from Nigeria in May 1967. Formally recognized by Gabon, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia, and supported by France, Israel, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Rhodesia, and even the Vatican, Biafra's attempt to leave Nigeria resulted in the Nigerian Civil War, which was to last until January 1970. Although lacking official support from abroad, the Biafran authorities quickly built up a military. Their efforts to set up an air force, supported by numerous Europeans - were widely publicised. Indeed, Biafra-related adventures of Polish World War II ace Jan Zumbach, or the Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen reached the status of legends before long. Far less is known about the Biafran Army and Navy, their capabilities and intentions, or the conduct of their combat operations. Indeed, the establishment of multiple commando units, and a special guerrilla outfit designed to emulate the Viet Cong, but especially the local manufacture of weapons - including armoured vehicles - remain largely unknown to the public. Based on years of thorough research, The Biafran Army is the first work ever to offer a comprehensive, in-depth study of the build-up, training, composition, equipment, and combat operations of all the three branches - the army, the air force, and the navy - of the secessionist military during the Nigerian Civil War. Illustrated by more than 120 rare photographs, maps, and colour profiles, this account provides a unique source of reference for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

At its peak the Italian Army contributed 2.5 million troops to the Axis war effort of World War II (1939-1945). English-speaking readers tend to think of this army in terms of the North African campaign; but far more Italian troops served in other theatres. They invaded, and later bore the major burden of occupying, the Balkan countries; and Italy sent 250,000 troops to fight on the Russian Front. In this, the first of a three-part study, Philip Jowett covers the European theatre - including Russia - from 1940 to Italy's armistice with the Allies in 1943. Many interesting uniforms, a number of them new to most readers, are meticulously illustrated by Stephen Andrew.

The battle for Burma during the Second World War was of vital importance to the Allies and the Japanese. The Allies fought to protect British India and force the Japanese out of Burma; the Japanese fought to defend the north-west flank of their newly conquered empire and aimed to strike at India where anti-British feeling was growing stronger. Yet the massive military efforts mounted by both sides during four years of war are often overshadowed by the campaigns in Europe, North Africa, the Pacific and China. Philip Jowett, using over 200 wartime photographs, many of them not published before, retells the story of the war in Burma in vivid detail, illustrating each phase of the fighting and showing all the forces involved - British, American, Chinese, Indian, Burmese as well as Japanese. His book is a fascinating introduction to one of the most extreme, but least reported, struggles of the entire war. The narrative and the striking photographs carry the reader through each of the major phases of the conflict, from the humiliation of the initial British defeat in 1942 and retreat into India and their faltering attempts to recover the initiative from 1943, to the famous Chindit raids behind Japanese lines, the Japanese offensive of 1944 and their disastrous retreat and ultimate defeat.

From the Banana Wars of the early 20th century through to the Football War of 1969, South and Central America has been a hotbed of revolutions, rebellions and conflicts as diverse as they are numerous. Some were small-scale affairs involving the poorly armed forces of Central American armies with rifles, machetes and a few aged machine guns. Others were full-scale conflicts involving sophisticated armies equipped with tanks, artillery and aircraft, and hundreds of thousands of troops. These wars often went largely unreported in the West, which was preoccupied with its own problems in fighting two world wars and dealing with Cold War tensions.

Fully illustrated with a wealth of rare photographs, this fascinating story sheds light on seven decades of a continent in conflict that is rarely covered in English.

In 1935, Fascist Italy invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), one of just two independent states in Africa at the time. Italy first invaded Ethiopia in 1895 and was driven out by the army of Emperor Menelik II. In 1935, the defensive effort would be led by Emperor Haile Selassie I. Benito Mussolini (the Italian Duce) claimed victory in 1936, but the struggle of Selassie and his people against impossible odds won worldwide admiration. This work supplements a concise narrative history of the conflict with more than 600 captioned photos, including detailed coverage of both armies.

This is a comprehensive guide to the armies that fought a devastating and decisive conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean between the two World Wars of the 20th century. From the initial Greek invasion, designed to "liberate" the 100,000 ethnic Greeks that lived in Western Turkey and had done for centuries, to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's incredibly efficient formation of a national government and a regular army, this was a war that shaped the geopolitical landscape of the Mediterranean to this day. It gave birth to the modern Turkish state, displacing millions and creating bitter memories of atrocities committed by both sides. Augmented with very rare photographs and beautiful illustrations, this ground-breaking title explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies, both guerilla and conventional, that fought in this bloody war.

The fall of the Manchu Empire in 1911 ended thousands of years of Imperial rule and ushered in almost 40 years of conflict in China. From the abdication of Pu-Yi, the last emperor, the invasion of Manchuria by the Japanese, and the 'long march', to the birth of the People's Republic of China in 1949, this book looks in detail at the fighting men, and women, who fought for the communists, imperialists, republicans, nationalists, warlords and the puppet armies. The result is a comprehensive and illuminating work covering a large and complex series of combatants and conflicts.

From the Mexican Revolution to the Zarumilla War, in the first 40 years of the 20th century the nations of Central and South America were frequently disturbed by border clashes, civil wars and revolution. Many of these conflicts became known as 'Banana Wars'. Some involved only lightly armed guerrillas, but others saw armies operating artillery and armoured vehicles, supported by aircraft and river navies. The conflicts in Honduras and Nicaragua saw the intervention of US Marines, and later wars involved armour and aircraft from the militaries of Europe.

Using detailed colour plates and a wealth of contemporary photographs, this book shows the uniforms, equipment and strategies of the armies involved in these conflicts little known in the West. Covering wars crossing the length and breadth of the continent, this is the fascinating account of the wars that helped shape modern Latin America.

The Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria was the first 20th century conflict fought between the regular armies of major powers, employing the most modern means - machine guns, trench warfare, minefields and telephone communications; and the battle of Mukden in March 1905 was the largest clash of armies in world history up to that date. Events were followed by many foreign observers; but the events of 1914 in Western Europe suggest that not all of them drew the correct conclusions. For the first time in the West the armies of this distant but important war are described and illustrated in detail, with rare photos and the superbly atmospheric paintings of Russia's leading military illustrator.