As German armored columns moved to seal off French ports from retreating British troops in 1940, Winston Churchill had few reserves he could commit. In an attempt to delay the Germans at Boulogne, Churchill sent in two battalions of the Irish Guards and Welsh Guards in a hastily-organized amphibious landing. In Battleground Europe style, eyewitness accounts and original photographs provide previously unknown details. A guide is also provided to the monuments, battle sites and accommodations in this historic city as they are today.

The guide will take the visitor beyond the ferry terminal and hypermarkets to reveal the hidden Calais and the actions of individuals and units in this defence.

The seizure of Pegasus Bridge by six glider borne platoons of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry under Major John Howard very early 6th June 1944, is one of the better-known stories of D-Day. Landing just yards from vital bridges over the River Orne and the Caen Canal near Benouville, Howard's men took and held the bridges in a remarkable coup de main operation with minimal casualties. The 7th Parachute Battalion dropped in soon afterwards to relieve Howard's men and the action remains, by any standards, a remarkable feat of arms. But it was only one act in a much grander...

Presents the history of the raising, training and service of the Barnsley Pals in the Great War.

When one thinks about World War I, one doesn't immediately imagine the soldiers recording the horrors of trench warfare by taking snaps with their pocket cameras. But that is exactly what happened. Launched in April 1912, the Vest Pocket Kodak was one of the world's first compact cameras. About the height and width of today's iPhone, it was small enough to fit into the pocket of a vest and became something of a craze on the eve of the war. It was advertised as the "Soldier's Kodak" and troops were encouraged to "Make your own picture record of the War." With the military banning journalists...