Military Titles for Review

A deep dive into the events and decisions that led to the Axis powers going to war against America, using German, Japanese and Italian sources.

Why did Axis countries go to war against America? Given America’s industrial base, what was the rationale that underpinned their decision? This new analysis by a seasoned intelligence officer, based mainly on German, Italian, and Japanese sources, offers a “red team exercise,” taking the viewpoint of the leaders of the Axis powers, looking at the build up to their war against America, and the course of the war itself. It identifies the moments when their leaders realized America and its American-supplied Allies were going to beat them.

It covers Japanese thinking about America and its other strategic rivals from the time of the Russo-Japanese war, because the Imperial Japanese Navy picked the US Navy as its notional enemy in 1907. It devotes serious attention to Japan’s war in China, because its inability to beat the Nationalists was the reason the Japanese made decisions that led to war against the United States. Ironically, fear of bombing from bases in China completely hijacked strategic decision-making on China and drove all Japanese offensive late in the war.

The coverage of Germany starts with Hitler’s early views of America in the 1920s. Hitler put so little thought into declaring war that the High Command had not been treating America as an enemy and had little intelligence on which to assess its war policy. The main new sources are OSS reports and memos from MI-6 Chief “C” to the Foreign Office. MAGIC also contains intercepted cable from the Japanese missions in Europe, including meetings with Hitler. The coverage of Italy is largely derivative of its relationship with Germany, as was the reality. Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano de Cortelazzo foresaw a massive conflict that would ruin Italy, but Mussolini in the end called the shots. Fortunately, the Germans had Ciano’s diary translated onto German, which survived destruction thanks to a secretary who buried it rather than burn it as ordered, so preserving a great source inside the Italian leadership and inter-Axis relations.

A forensic study of Vietnam's war, imperial history and international relations in the years following the Second World War.

A forensic study of war, imperial history and international relations, following the Second World War and leading into the Cold War and defeat of Western imperialism in Asia. And above all, the story of the pivotal battle and French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. It shows France's revanchist attempt to regain imperial 'glory' in her former Asian empire following humiliation in the Second World War - defeat and Vichy. The effort was spurred by de Galle's chauvinism and desire to recover France’s honour and reputation, after so many humiliations by friend and foe. The Communist led Vietminh, were guided to victory by ruthless revolutionary Ho Chi Min - far from the attractive 'Uncle Ho' who is revered as a communist saint in contrast to louche playboy emperor Bao Dai – and the very able General Giap. Communist strength in rural Vietnam society - the Vietminh represented a nation in arms – was backed by supplies from Communist China and the Soviet Union. It was an existential struggle on the French side - the end of cafe society, and the gravy train for planters, officials, the military, and politicians. Military matters including General Giap’s strategy and tactics are analyzed in detail, but it was a 'soldiers' war', told at ground-level, and readers will feel the heat and fear of battle, be shocked at war crimes, and intrigued by the tales of Graham Greene et al. The global importance was not lost on the powers following exhaustion from world war and in the shadow of the Cold War. All great leaders were involved, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Churchill, Stalin, Khruschev, Chou En-Lai and Mao Zedong, Under the shadow of the A bomb, a negotiated peace and first detent of the Cold War would end in the sumptuous salons of Geneva.

"Of all the many mistakes the United States made in invading Iraq, none was as damning as the mishandling of postwar security and reconstruction. The place to start to understand that fiasco is with Kevin Benson’s Expectation of Valor." — Kenneth M. Pollack, former CIA Persian Gulf military analyst and author of Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness

Given the length of time the United States spent in Iraq, there is a perception that there was no consideration before the war of what should be done after coalition forces arrived in Baghdad and removed Saddam Hussein. However as this unofficial history reveals, there was a great deal of planning to address how to achieve the policy objectives for Iraq set by the Bush administration. Kevin Benson—director of plans for the United States Third Army, the ground forces command headquarters for GEN Franks’ Central Command, at the start of the war—details the development of the invasion plan and its subsequent execution from D-Day in March 2003 until the change of command of operations in Iraq and the departure of Third Army in June 2003.

He addresses the persistent trope that “the Army did no planning” for “Phase IV,” revealing that extensive plans were proposed, and were met with very little interest in Washington. The book covers the difficulties encountered in dealing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, from getting his approval on the number of forces requested to conducting the campaign to find the “smoking gun” of WMD; the instructions given to Army, Marine and coalition forces; and the daily secure video teleconferences with Central Command and the Pentagon, and the rather remarkable conversations and guidance that came from these meetings.

Using combat reports from both sides, this book analyzes the events as they occurred, explaining the reasons for Peiper's failure.

Kampfgruppe Peiper was the spearhead of the German 6th Panzer-Army in the Ardennes, responsible for clearing the way for the German tanks towards the Meuse and Antwerp. It was endowed with considerable firepower and brought together the most motivated veterans of the Third Reich. It had to rush forward without regard to its flanks, seizing the bridges over the Meuse before the American army had time to react. After a difficult start, the German armored column broke through the defensive curtain of Gis and set off on its mission. It had to cross the Ardennes, an easy-to-defend area that the American command used to gain time. One after the other, bridges were being blown in front of Peiper. His fuel ran out, and he found himself at a standstill isolated on a promontory at La Gleize. Using combat reports from both sides, this book analyzes the events as they occurred, minute by minute, explaining the reasons for Peiper's failure, even though, on paper at least, he had everything he needed to win.

An analysis of how drones have and will continue to shape modern combat and warfare.

An in-depth analysis of how drones have revolutionized ground combat, including combat experience from recent wars.
 
Despite the dramatic effect drones have already had on the battlefield, drone technology is still in its infancy—perhaps analogous with at the stage of development that aircraft reached during World War I. Understanding what drones are currently capable of, how they operate, and how they may develop, is crucial for anyone with an interest in modern and future warfare.
 
Building on an introductory discussion into the engineering and physics of drones, their capabilities and limitations, historian and systems engineer Lars Celander surveys the different types of drones, detailing their navigation, communication and sensor systems and the various weapons a drone can be equipped with. He explains not only the tactics of drone operations but the various techniques, tactics, and weapons currently utilized in counter-drone warfare. The costs of drones, hit probabilities, attrition rates, and production volumes are covered to provide context to the technological discussion.
 
Analysis of how Azerbaijan used drones to defeat Armenia in 2020 and how drone warfare has evolved since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrates how drones are already revolutionizing warfare. The war in Ukraine is the first to see large-scale use of small drones, a usage so effective that it has rendered large-scale maneuver warfare largely impossible.
 
Taking into account technologies like AI, the book concludes with informed predictions into the further evolution of drones.

Through the vivid diary entries and artwork of Harold W. Pierce, this book offers a gripping firsthand account of a young soldier's journey through World War I.

April 1917. Eighteen-year-old Harold W. Pierce leaves school to join the U.S. Army, specifically the National Guard infantry company from heavily forested Warren County in northwestern Pennsylvania. He’s big for his age and he’s determined to serve his country. Thirteen months later, having trained at the steaming hot tent city of Camp Hancock in Georgia, Pierce and the rest of the 28th Division’s 112th Infantry Regiment is on its way to England and then to France. He’s one of the First Battalion’s scouts so he’ll see the war from a different perspective than the rest of the infantrymen, which includes his older brother Hugh.

What Pierce sees, hears and feels will fill the small diary he keeps in his pocket. His descriptions become a diary of 79,000 words. His descriptions, his insights, his fears and his hopes bring the war to life as a young man experiences it. This young man, though, has a keen ability to express and describe that goes beyond his years: The abject terror of being in the middle of a sustained artillery barrage, his fear as he desperately tries to dig in as machine gun bullets fly inches over his head, and the relief he feels when an artillery round splits the air where he would have been if he had not – inexplicably – stopped walking.

Pierce has moments when he does not want to answer the runner’s call of his name, when all he wants to do is sleep in a safe shelter. But he does answer and he goes on the patrol that all are convinced will be a one-way mission.

Pierce survives it all, becoming a state police trooper in Pennsylvania after the war and later the chief law enforcement instructor for that state’s Public Service Institute until his retirement in 1966. In 1979, the diary was printed in serialized form in a small Pennsylvania newspaper. Throughout his life Pierce took to canvas to depict a variety of scenes from the World War. Included in this book are six of those paintings. Pierce died in 1983.

A reference work providing brief, scholarly biographical summaries for senior officers of the Third Reich, covering surnames H–O.

This second volume of a three-volume set offers concise biographical information for generals and admirals of the Third Reich with surnames between H and O. The set covers all branches of service, providing a brief but scholarly overview of each individual, including personal details and dates for all attachments to unit, and medals awarded, offering a readily accessible go-to reference work for all World War II researchers and historians.

In addition to the biographic information, this volume includes detailed appendices on Reichsheer Generals and Reichsmarine Admirals, 1921–35.

These books are packed with information on these senior officers of the Third Reich, many of whom are little documented in the English language.

This work demonstrates how maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land.

In this book, the history and utility of land- and carrier-based strategic airpower is brought to life by the gallant exploits and photographs of B-17 aircraft “Quittin’ Time” and of its Navigator, “Fred” Julian in the Second World War, and by the unforgiving and unswerving dedication of “Sharkey” Ward and his Sea Harrier team in the Falklands war.

The overarching message is that the strategic airpower lessons of the past eight decades underpin the urgent need for the UK government to invest more wisely in its Fleet so that the latter may work effectively in conjunction with the US Navy on the global mission to deter those that would harm us, and to maintain the freedom of passage of all shipping throughout the global commons.

The authors show how a maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land.

This book delves into the controversial actions of British prisoners of war during World War II, exploring cases of alleged betrayal, collaboration, and espionage.

During the Second World War over 200,000 British prisoners of war were detained by the Third Reich. A large proportion of these PoWs were members of the Royal Air Force, or airmen who served in it. A number of them have been immortalized in the many books and movies that have portrayed their valiant exploits and escapes, none more so than the events surrounding the Great Escape in 1944.

The names of camps such as Stalag Luft III, at Sagan, and Colditz Castle are well known to the general public, the prisoners incarcerated there often being held in high regard. But there were a few PoWs whose loyalty to the cause and their fellow prisoners might not have been as strong.

The names of Pilot Officer Railton Freeman, Sergeant Jack Alcock and Sergeant Raymond Hughes are among those found in that inglorious group of alleged traitors, for all three men betrayed their colleagues and the nation. The trio assisted the Nazi regime in making radio broadcasts, or even joining the British Frei Korps, a unit of the dreaded SS. One gave information about the Monica radar system to the Luftwaffe, and others got fellow prisoners to divulge information on fake Red Cross forms.

Other prisoners such as Flight Lieutenant Julius Zuromski and Squadron Leader Robert George Carpenter also came under suspicion when reports began to arrive at MI9 in London. Inquiries were subsequently undertaken by the RAF Special Investigation Branch and MI5 – investigations that would ultimately lead to the imprisonment of some and the release of others.

What these men did and why some were prosecuted, and others were released without charge, is examined by the author. Why one man in particular, an ardent Nazi and traitor, was not sentenced to death, having liaised with the likes of the infamous William Joyce, also known as ‘Lord Haw Haw’, and even Josef Goebbels, is a mystery to this day.

Sadly, not all our aviators were heroes. But there has long been debate that some of them might have actually been working for the Security Services. So, were these men traitors who collaborated with Hitler’s Third Reich, or agents working for the British State?

With over 1,000 original photographs, this is a true labor of love and an ideal purchase for anyone interested in the history of the Second World War in a more accessible form.

The Second World War Illustrated: The Final Year follows the author's visual tour of the war by means of painstakingly researched and digitally restored pictures from the period of the key battlefields and events of the period from September 1944 until the end of the war.

The book begins with Montgomery's Market Garden failure, devoting 60 pages to the planning, key individuals and forces involved in the operation and its outcome on both sides. Attention then turns to the Warsaw Uprising, where the Polish underground resistance attempted to liberate Warsaw from German occupation at the cost of thousands of resistance and civilian casualties. We then explore the importance of Walcheren and the port of Antwerp, culminating in the Battle of Scheldt.

A chapter is devoted to the fighting along the Siegfried Line at Aachen, the Battle for Hürtgen Forest and the liberation of Alsace, before switching to the Battle of the Bulge: Hitler's final major offensive campaign of the war. From here the author documents the decline of the Nazi war machine and the Allies' push to victory with Operation Varsity – the largest airborne operation in history, leading the way to the battles for Berlin. Faced with impending defeat, Hitler's suicide marks the beginning of the end and the fate of the Führer's party leaders is addressed. The book concludes with VE celebrations, before turning attention to the Burmese Campaign, the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the dropping of the atomic bomb.

With over 1,000 original photographs, this is a true labour of love and an ideal purchase for anyone interested in the history of the Second World War in a more accessible form.

A journey back in time through objects and locations into the life of one of Britain’s most enigmatic and celebrated individuals.

A twentieth century icon, Lawrence of Arabia, as Thomas Edward Lawrence is more commonly known, spent thirteen out of his forty-six years in the region from which he drew his name. This was as a scholar researching his university thesis, a spy surveying Sinai for the British Army before the First World War, an intelligence officer in Cairo, a liaison officer to the Arabs, and as a diplomat who galvanized and united the Arab tribes into an effective fighting force. He became an explosives expert and a guerrilla fighter who influenced Arab leaders in defeating their Ottoman occupiers.

The story of his achievements in Arabia, derailing Turkish trains and attacking enemy strongholds, has become the stuff of legend. But his life after the disappointment of witnessing the Arabs being denied independence at the end of the First World War is as intriguing as his more famous escapades in the desert.

Uncomfortable with the fame and celebrity status that Lowell Thomas’s lectures brought upon him, after a brief tenure as a civil servant working for Winston Churchill in an attempt to address the failure of achieving Arab independence at the Cairo Conference, Lawrence, the former Lieutenant-Colonel, remarkably sought a life in obscurity. In the years after the war, for example, he served in the Royal Air Force as an aircraftsman and spent a brief period as a private in the Royal Tank Corps under the alias John Hume Ross or Thomas Edward Shaw. He became a competent marine motor mechanic, and was personally involved in the development of the fast RAF 200 Seaplane tender and an armored target boat. He also became a renowned author and could claim literary giants such as Thomas Hardy, E.M. Forster and George Bernhard Shaw as his friends.

In this highly illustrated book, the story of Lawrence’s fascinating life is explored through many of the places and objects associated with him, from his birthplace in Wales through to his grave at Moreton in Dorset. Lawrence of Arabia features his places of education in Oxford, sites where he served as a British Army intelligence officer in Cairo, as liaison officer and adviser to the Arabs, even where he fought alongside his Arab brothers against the Ottomans.

It also follows his life in the years after Arabia. Some of the fascinating locations Paul Kendall visits include RAF stations at Calshot and Bridlington, or the Tank Depot at Bovington Camp where he served in the ranks, his cottage at Clouds Hill and the homes of his famous friends that he frequently visited. The objects examined include Arab robes that he wore, his Khanjar, his service rifle, and even the Brough motorcycle which he enjoyed and valued.

This book is not just a journey across Arabia, Britain and Europe, but also a journey back in time through objects and locations into the life of one of Britain’s most enigmatic and celebrated individuals.

This book provides a unique and fascinating insight into a little-known aspect of Hitler’s life and character.

Hitler at Hintersee tells two stories. On the one hand there is Gerhard Bartels, who still lives at Hintersee outside Berchtesgaden. As a small boy Gerhard was photographed on a number of occasions with Adolf Hitler when the Führer visited Hintersee. Gerhard tell us about his life growing up in an area frequented by senior members of the Nazi hierarchy. He talks about the lives of ordinary local people and how the remaining German forces in the area considered putting up a last defense as the Allies advanced towards Berchtesgaden and Hintersee in April and May 1945. His family hotel was taken over as a last stand headquarters.

This fascinating book also examines the significance of the region to the ruthless all-powerful regime and why the Nazi leadership established a southern headquarters on the Obersalzberg above Berchtesgaden. It reveals Hitler’s connection to the area and looks at why he was initially drawn to this beautiful Alpine region in 1923.

Hitler’s close links with Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg endured for over twenty years during which time the area was transformed. Local sources together with a wealth of contemporary images provide a depth of previously unexplored information. Hitler at Hintersee provides a unique and fascinating insight into a little-known aspect of Hitler’s life and character.

An in-depth overview of the role of the Royal Air Force's leaders during World War II.

The RAF did not come of age until the Second World War. The role of its forerunners in the Great War, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, although important, was peripheral to that of the ground forces.

The founding father of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, was determined that it should become a fully-fledged third service, equal in status to the Royal Navy and British Army, and this he succeeded in doing between the wars, firstly by setting up the RAF College at Cranwell, and Staff College at Andover, and secondly by providing a cost-effective policeman of the more rebellious parts of the British Empire.

By 1939 the RAF had grown substantially, but, of the three best aircraft of the coming War, only the Supermarine Spitfire was in service, as neither the Avro Lancaster nor the De Havilland Mosquito would be available until early 1942. Aircraft, however, were not enough. It was the leaders of the RAF, the subjects of this book, who would take the battle to the enemy and who, after six long years, would prevail.

Author Elon Perry uniquely combines the narrative of a challenging childhood amidst wartime struggles with the gripping tale of military service in a commando unit.

The book differs from other books on the subject because the plot revolves around two themes: a difficult and impoverished childhood during times of war, and military service in a commando unit, carried out with the aim of exacting revenge on the enemy and featuring vivid and detailed descriptions of battles.

In the book, real stories and events are infused, including daring operations from the battlefield. Some of these accounts have never before been published, and only today, 40 years after the events, has the Israeli censorship allowed them to be shared.

This story can be an inspiration to people who find themselves in desperate situations. They can learn how against all odds and in any given situation one can survive difficulties, as long as one has the will, perseverance, and belief that anything is possible.

Supported by eleven maps and over 150 photographs, this is the story of Scottish Troops fighting for survival in Normandy.

The story of the 51st (Highland) Division during 1939 and 1940 is a short and largely tragic one and although it firmly burnt itself into the minds of Scotsmen it has never been granted the recognition it deserves. Even in Scotland it is often forgotten that the men, and attached troops, of the 51st Division, were fighting for survival in Normandy for some ten days after the evacuation from Dunkerque had been completed. Most present-day accounts of the Second World War in 1939/40 deal with the ‘Phoney War’ and the evacuation from Dunkerque but few mention the rearguard action at St Valery-en-Caux, other than a giving it a passing mention. Nevertheless, the action of the 51st Division against the might of German forces won the admiration of General Erwin Rommel and Charles De Gaulle, who fought against and alongside them.

One of the enduring beliefs is that Churchill deliberately sacrificed the 51st Division in an attempt to keep France in the war; this, apart from being palpably incorrect, fails miserably to address the intricacy of the circumstances that overtook the 51st Division after they returned from the Saar. In a situation where units were repeatedly changing affiliation, communication between the French Supreme Command and British forces suffered language difficulties and the inclination to blame each other for the debacle that inevitably ensued. Nevertheless, for all the criticism that is thrown at the French Army, it is clear that a number of French units fought hard and with great courage, the main fault with the French command lying with poor leadership and lack of tactical planning.

As far as the Highlanders were concerned it was bad luck that their term of duty on the Saar coincided with the beginning of Fall Rot. The speed and extent of the German advance from Abbeville took their own High Command and the French by surprise and it was with little wonder that Allied military thinking failed to keep up with actions on the battlefield. The theory that Churchill sacrificed the division to keep the French in the war owes a great deal to the Scottish need to attribute all the misery of the world to one scoundrel, a trait that exists to this day!

Supported by eleven maps and over 150 photographs, the book traces the history of the 51st Division from its inception until its final surrender at St Valery-en-Caux and deals with the fighting on the Saar and the often ragged skirmishing though Normandy. The book also touches on the actions of the 1st armored Division and the Battle of Abbeville. There are three walks and a car tour included in this volume which allows the battlefield visitor to base themselves firstly in Abbeville and, secondly, further into Normandy.

An accurate, exciting diary-like chronicle of the day-to-day machinations of the German generals as they struggle to prepare to meet the enemy in the West.

In December 1943 with the rising realization that the Allies are planning to invade Fortress Europe, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is assigned the title of General Inspector for the Atlantic Wall. His mission is to assess their readiness.

What he finds disgusts him. The famed Atlantikwall is nothing but a paper tiger, woefully unprepared for the forces being massed across the English Channel. His task—to turn back the Allied invasion—already seems hopeless.

His superior, theater commander, crusty old Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who had led the Reich to victory in the early years of the war, is now fed up with the whole Nazi regime. He lives comfortably in a plush villa in a quiet Paris suburb, waiting for the inevitable Allied invasion that will bring about their final defeat.

General der Artillerie Erich Marcks, badly injured in Russia, is the corps commander on the ground in Normandy, trying to build up the coastal defenses with woefully inadequate supplies and a shortage of men to fulfill Rommel's demands. Marcks is convinced that the Allies will land in his sector, but no one higher up the chain of command seems interested in what he thinks.

Meanwhile, aristocratic Generaloberst Hans von Salmuth, an outspoken, cocky, experienced veteran of the Russian Front, has been given responsibility for defending Fifteenth Army's coastline at Calais—the area that the High Command thinks is most likely to be the Allies' objective. General der Panzertruppen Geyr von Schweppenburg is preparing the élite panzer divisions for what may lie ahead. Generalmajor Max Pemsel struggles in coordinating efforts to prepare Seventh Army, suspecting that if an invasion comes he will be the hub of the German response. All of the Western Theater commanders are subject to the whims of Adolf Hitler, hundreds of miles away but continually issuing orders increasingly divorced from the reality of the war.

Countdown to D-Day takes a detailed day-to-day journal approach tracing the daily activities and machinations of the German High Command as they try to prepare for the Allied invasion.

"Reading this book is a mission strongly recommended." — The VVA Veteran

It wasn’t rockets or artillery that came through the skies one week during the war. It was the horrific force of nature that suddenly put both sides in awe. As an unofficial truce began, questions and emotions battled inside every air crewman’s mind as they faced masses of Vietnamese civilians outside their protective base perimeters for the first time. Could we trust them not to shoot? Could they trust us not to drop them off in a detention camp? Truces never last, but life changes a bit for all the people involved while they are happening.

Sometimes wars are suspended and fighting stops for a while. A holiday that both sides recognize might do it, as happened in the Christmas truce during World War I. Weather might do it, too, as it did in Vietnam in October 1970. The “typhoon truce” was just as real, and the war stopped for three days in northern I Corps--that area bordering the demilitarized zone separating South Vietnam from the North. The unofficial “typhoon truce” came because first, Super Typhoon Joan arrived, devastating all the coastal lowlands in I Corps and further up into North Vietnam. Then, less than a week later came Super Typhoon Kate. Kate hit the same area with renewed fury, leaving the entire countryside under water and the people there faced with both war and natural disaster at the same time.

No one but the Americans, the foreign warriors fighting throughout the country, had the resources to help the people who lived in the lowlands, and so they did. For the men who took their helicopters out into the unending rain it really made little difference. Perhaps no one would shoot at them for a while, but the everyday dangers they faced remained, magnified by the low clouds and poor visibility. The crews got just as tired, maybe more so, than on normal missions. None of that really mattered. The aircrews of the 101st Airborne went out to help anyway, because rescuing people was now their mission. In this book we see how for a brief period during an otherwise vicious war, saving life took precedence over bloody conflict.

Whether you are a casual reader or a Pacific Theater aficionado, this book, like its predecessor makes a perfect addition to your library." — War Diary Magazine

In early 1942, the Japanese Army and Navy were advancing on all fronts, humiliating their US, British and Dutch foes throughout the Asia Pacific. In a matter of just months, the soldiers and sailors of the Rising Sun conquered an area even bigger than Hitler’s empire at its largest extent. They seemed invincible. Hawaiians and Australians were fearing a future under Hirohito. For half of mankind, fate was hanging in the balance.

Fast forward to the end of 1943, and the tables had been turned entirely. A reinvigorated American-led military machine had kicked into gear, and the Japanese were fighting a defensive battle along a frontline that crossed thousands of miles of land and ocean. Japan Runs Wild, 1942-1943 by acclaimed author Peter Harmsen details the astonishing transformation that took place in that period, setting the Allies on a path to final victory against Japan.

The middle installment in the trilogy, Japan Runs Wild, 1942–1943 picks up the story where its predecessor volume Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931-1941 left off. The common theme of the series is a comprehensive view of World War Two in the Asia Pacific, giving due emphasis to the central Japanese-American struggle, but also encompassing the other nations that were engulfed in the vast showdown: British, Australians, Soviets, Filipinos, Indians and Koreans. Above all, the central importance of China is highlighted in a way that no previous general history of the war against Japan has achieved.

An authoritative history of the defensive lines built in Central Europe during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

After the Napoleonic Wars the borders of Central Europe were redrawn and relative peace endured across the region, but the volatile politics of the late nineteenth century generated an atmosphere of fear and distrust, and it gave rise to a new era of fortress building, and this is the subject of this highly illustrated new study. The authors describe how defensive lines and structures on a massive scale were constructed along national frontiers to deter aggression. The Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Czechs all embarked on ambitious building programs. Artillery positions, barbed-wire networks, casemates, concrete bunkers, trench lines, observation posts all sprang up in a vain attempt to keep the peace and to delay the invader. The strategic thinking that gave rise to these defensive schemes is described in detail in this study, as is the planning, design and construction of the lines themselves. Their operational history in wartime, in particular during the Second World War, is a key element of the account.