In the age of modern warfare the changing landscape of the 21st century battlefield has demanded a transformation within the US Marine Corps Special Operations. Adapting to a huge range of combat environments, an enormous array of specialist uniforms, protective armor and battlefield electronic devices have been developed to facilitate missions in the most extreme conditions. A special forces operator may now have available to him a dozen distinct types of body armor and two dozen different weapons; never before in American military history has so much been given to so few. Authored by J....
In the age of modern warfare the changing landscape of the 21st century battlefield has demanded a transformation within the US Marine Corps Special O...
Even when Western Allied troops gained a foothold in Normandy, World War II in Europe was far from over. The route to Germany's interior and the Nazis final surrender was long, arduous and blood-stained. The Wehrmacht's stubborn resistance and the shocking losses suffered by US, British, Canadian and 'Free European' troops meant that the Allies had to adapt and refine small-unit tactics, battle-drills, and their use of weapons and munitions. The troops who finally met up with the Red Army in Germany were a very different fighting force to the one that struggled up the beaches of northern...
Even when Western Allied troops gained a foothold in Normandy, World War II in Europe was far from over. The route to Germany's interior and the Nazis...
Discover what equipment a GI carried with him during World War II: what he had strapped around his body, what it contained, and what those items were used for.
In this highly illustrated book, Special Forces veteran Gordon Rottman offers a truly comprehensive treatment of U.S. World War II gear, covering not only basic belts, pouches, and packs, but also mess gear, first-aid gear, tools, bivouac/camping gear--essentially everything that a GI has to keep him alive and operational on the battlefield. Illustrated with wartime photos, new photos of kit from private collections, and color...
Discover what equipment a GI carried with him during World War II: what he had strapped around his body, what it contained, and what those items we...
For the best part of three centuries the "corsairs," or pirates, from the "Barbary" coasts of North Africa dominated the western and central Mediterranean, making forays far into the Atlantic and preying on the shipping and coastal settlements across Christian Europe, ranging from Greece to West Africa to the British Isles. In the absence of organized European navies, they seldom faced serious opposition, and the scope of their raiding was remarkable.
As well as piracy and slave-raiding, they fought as privateers, sharing their spoils with the rulers of the port cities that...
For the best part of three centuries the "corsairs," or pirates, from the "Barbary" coasts of North Africa dominated the western and central Medite...
Written by an expert on modern special forces units and the operations they undertake, this book explains the evolution of the Rangers' missions in Panama, the first Gulf War, Somalia, and the post-9/11 invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. It reveals the training and organizational changes that the unit has undergone and investigates, in particular, how their doctrine and mantra have changed during the fourteen-year war in Afghanistan.
At the beginning of the war, the Rangers were an elite light infantry unit of men tasked with short-duration recon raids and securing ground behind...
Written by an expert on modern special forces units and the operations they undertake, this book explains the evolution of the Rangers' missions in...
As infantry units advanced across Europe the only support they could rely on from day to day was that provided by the heavy weapons of their own units. While thundering tanks struck fear into the hearts of their enemies, it was the machine guns, mortars, and light cannon that proved to be most important, causing the majority of casualties suffered during World War II. Common principles were shared across units but the wide variety of weapons available to the different armies altered the way they were used in battle.
Focusing on the US, British, German, and Soviet troops, this...
As infantry units advanced across Europe the only support they could rely on from day to day was that provided by the heavy weapons of their own un...
In an age when infantry units maneuvered and fought in rigid blocks, the idea of encouraging initiative and allowing a unit to "skirmish" was regarded as revolutionary and fell out of favor in the years following the French-Indian and American Revolutionary wars. It was revived by far-sighted British and foreign-mercenary officers, who observed the way in which French Revolutionary armies deployed skirmishers to prepare the way for their assault columns.
Offering a detailed analysis of tactics, this book is studded with period "battle descriptions" quoted from eye-witness accounts,...
In an age when infantry units maneuvered and fought in rigid blocks, the idea of encouraging initiative and allowing a unit to "skirmish" was regar...
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the first of over 150,000 Allied soldiers stormed five beaches in Normandy against fierce German resistance. They were specially trained and task-organized in a range of different landing teams depending on their means of transport, their tasks, and the resistance they anticipated. The first assault infantry were accompanied by tankers, combat engineers, and other specialist personnel, to breach German obstacles, knock out defensive positions, and to defend and prepare the beaches for the follow-on waves. On some beaches the plans worked, on others they...
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the first of over 150,000 Allied soldiers stormed five beaches in Normandy against fierce German resistance. Th...
The Munich Olympics massacre in 1972 was a shock awakening to the public. In the decades since, European countries have faced a wide range of threats from Palestinian and home-grown terrorists, to the more recent worldwide jihadists. The threats they pose are widespread from aircraft hijacking and political assassinations to urban warfare against security forces, and murderous attacks on civilian crowd targets, forcing governments have had to invest ever-greater efforts in countering these threats.
This book traces the evolution of police (and associated military) counter-terrorist...
The Munich Olympics massacre in 1972 was a shock awakening to the public. In the decades since, European countries have faced a wide range of threa...
Roman unit standards played a important role, both ceremonially and on the battlefield. With the armies of the late Roman Republic and early Empire continually engaged on the frontiers, the soldiers selected for the dangerous honor of carrying them were figures of particular renown and splendor.
Standard-bearers wore special armor, with the heads and pelts of animals such as bears, wolves, or even lions draped over their helmets and shoulders. The standards themselves varied greatly, from the legion's Eagle and imperial portrait image to various cohort signa, flags (vexilla),...
Roman unit standards played a important role, both ceremonially and on the battlefield. With the armies of the late Roman Republic and early Empire...
