Ever since the 15th century Switzerland had been exporting professional soldiers to serve as mercenaries for foreign monarchies. Napoleon, therefore, was not the first to make full use of the martial qualities of the Swiss and obtained Swiss agreement to expand the recruitment of regiments for service in the French Army. Napoleon would use Swiss troops on the battlefields of Italy and Spain, and in 1812 re-organize the four original regiments into a single division for the invasion of Russia, with each regiment having three full-strength battalions. In all theatres where they were engaged,...

When Hitler's forces poured into France and the Low Countries in 1940, the uneasy peace of the 'Phoney War' was shattered, and Europe was ripped apart by another Blitzkrieg. Forming the backbone of the German advance were the mobile, well-equipped Schutzen (Rifles), motorized infantry who embodied the essence of the fluid, swift warfare that had characterized World War II thus far. Facing them were infantrymen of the British Expeditionary Force, units of considerable fighting quality who had nevertheless had no special training or doctrinal instruction to conduct combined-arms warfare in...

As the war in North Africa escalated, Axis military efforts became increasingly dependent on supply lines across the Mediterranean. To try to sever these lines of supply, the British deployed submarines from the besieged island of Malta with the directive to sink as much merchant convoy tonnage as possible. Italy responded by sending her torpedo boats to protect and escort Axis convoys.

Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork and carefully chosen archive photographs, this engaging study assesses the evolving battle between Britain's submarines and Italy's torpedo boats...