Modern Combat Pistols provides a comprehensive account of the development of military and police semi-automatic pistols and their ammunition from 1945 to present day. It follows on from the same authors critically acclaimed Assault Rifle Crowood 2004].

The first part of the book looks at defensive and offensive pistols, the difference between military and police pistols, and special-purpose weapons such as silenced and underwater pistols. The history of the handgun before 1945 is described, and there is an examination both of the development of the semi-automatic pistol since 1945...

The machine gun had a dramatic effect on the conduct of warfare; one or two men operating a single machine could produce the same weight of fire as a squadron of rifles, and when used against an inferior enemy, the effect could be devestating. During the First World War, the use of the machine gun in conjunction with massed barbed wire and other obstacles put an end to battlefield mobility until new weapons and tactics could be devised. This book describes the development of the machine gun from the earliest models to the present day. The focus is very much on portable infantry weapons used...