The German invasion in 1941 led to a series of staggering defeats for the Russians. In the first five months of fighting, the Soviets lost about four million men, amounting to 80 per cent of the total strength of the ground forces at the time of the outbreak of the war. Yet the Red Army managed to hold on. The Soviets had been steadily growing throughout in capability and effectiveness, and after the smashing of the German offensive at the battle of the Kursk salient, they were never again seriously checked, advancing to the ruins of Berlin itself. This title examines the organisation,...

By the 15th century BC the valley of Hwang Ho was dominated by a palace-based military caste which owed its supremacy to a monopoly of bronze-working techniques among a still mainly Stone Age population. To the Shang Dynasty, war was a means of legitimising the power of their new aristocracy. This fascinating volume by C. J. Peers covers the period of China's history from the first documented civilisation to the establishment of an enduring unified empire, examining the history, organisation, uniform and weapons of ancient Chinese armies.

In 1919 Adolf Hitler joined the tiny German Workers' Party (DAP) in Munich, becoming its leader the following year and adding 'National Socialist' to its title. Thus the NSDAP, popularly known as the Nazi Party, was born. All political parties had strong-arm squads to protect their meetings from disruption by rivals, and the NSDAP was no exception. In August 1921 ex-naval Lieutenant Hans Ulrich Klintzsch took command of the NSDAP's 'Defence and Propaganda Troop' which, the following month, was renamed the SA (Sturmabteilung = Storm Detachment). David Littlejohn's fine text examines the...

Tamerlane or Timur-i-Lenk ('Timur the Lame') is one of the most extraordinary conquerors in history. In the late 14th century his armies seized huge territories from the borders of Mongolia to Palestine and Anatolia. His passage was marked by massacres that outdid even those of the Mongols for sheer savagery. Timur's career was unequalled since Alexander the Great in terms of constant battlefield success. Only in his youth, while recovering his family estates south of Samarqand, did he face occasional defeat. This title tells the remarkable story of Timur and details the organisation,...

The field equipment of the German Army in World War II was closely related to that used throughout World War I and earlier, yet it was of relatively light weight, ruggedly constructed, well designed, functional, and generally of a high quality, though this deteriorated in the later war years. A high degree of design standardisation was maintained in most categories of equipment, though materials and their colours often varied widely. There were also many different specialisations for the various arms of service as well as theatres of combat, such as the Afrikakorps in the Western Desert. This...

An unrivaled source of information on the uniforms, insignia and appearance of the world's fighting men of past and present. This book contains some 50 photographs and diagrams, and 12 pages of full-colour artwork. This book also contains cutaways and exploded artwork of the warrior's weapons and armour, and much more.

The outbreak of World War I found the British Army's Royal Flying Corps with just over 200 fragile, unarmed reconnaissance aircraft, and a uniformed strength of just over 2,000 all ranks; the Royal Naval Air Service had some 50 seaplanes. By the Armistice of 1918 the unified Royal Air Force was the largest in the world, with about 22,650 aeroplanes - including a strategic bomber force - and 27,330 men operating from some 700 bases. This second in a two-part study covers RAF, WRAF and RAFNS uniforms from the unification of the service in April 1918; and the whole span of flying clothing during...

The contribution of women to the Allied war effort during World War II (1939-45) was massive. Apart from their many vital roles 'on the home front', about a million Soviet, 500,000 British and 200,000 American women, and tens of thousands from other Allied nations, served in uniform with the armed forces. To put these figures in perspective: enough American women served to free sufficient able-bodied men to form 15 infantry divisions. It was not only in the USSR that their duties took them into harm's way; hundreds of British Commonwealth and US servicewomen died, and many were decorated....

It was the Mediterranean theatre which saw the blooding of the US Army against the German Wehrmacht, in North Africa in the winter of 1943-44 of World War II (1939-1945). After this rough education the US forces pressed on to Sicily, the South of France and the Italian mainland. Here, faced by difficult terrain, they and their British Commonwealth allies fought a long campaign until VE-Day. This second of a series of three MAA titles covers the uniforms worn on these fronts, including US Army cold weather, airborne and tankers' gear; some particularly interesting and important units,...

The GIs who struggled ashore through the surf of Omaha and Utah Beaches on 6 June 1944 were members of the best-equipped army ever assembled up to that date. It was in the NW Europe campaign of June 1944-May 1945 of World War II that the US Army was finally able to show its full potential for fluent mechanised warfare. This title describes both combat and service uniforms worn in the ETO, from the assault troops on the D-Day beaches to bemedalled veterans celebrating VE-Day; other subjects covered include artillery, tanks, anti-tank weapons, the engineers, the replacement system; and the...