The 1st Armoured Division saw more action than any other British armoured division from its deployment in France in 1940 until its disbandment in Italy in 1944. Despite its impressive record this division has been almost ignored by historians and this book is an attempt to rectify this. It follows the division through its disastrous campaign in France, then to North Africa to follow its retreat to Gazala and its part in that defeat. It looks closely at the division's actions around Ruweisat Ridge where the reputation of British armour reached an all-time low. This is followed by an account of...

This book is the result of its author's determination to understand the phenomenon of war, a determination which has been one of the driving forces of his life for over half a century. It has taken well over ten years to write.
In this book two basic types of conflict are defined, primary and secondary warfare. The study mostly covers secondary warfare which is considered in terms of the army/government/people triad, both in the context of conventional war between countries, and guerrilla insurrections within countries.
Each aspect of warfare is illustrated, and each conclusion is...

This book is an attempt to describe the British army's approach to Anti-Tank Warfare from its inception during the Great War until 1945.

During the Great War the army found little reason to study anti-tank warfare and after the war what little anti-tank awareness there was slowly faded away. This was inevitable because of the 'ten year rule' which proclaimed that there would be no major war in that period, and it was only in the second half of the thirties that the British army started to take the subject seriously.

In 1939 the British anti-tank armament and tactics were inadequate,...

This short study follows German Anti-Tank Warfare from 1916 to 1945. During its early days in the Great War German Anti-Tank Warfare quickly achieved a surprising degree of sophistication but throughout most of the inter-war period it was largely ignored. As the Second World War approached it was regarded as a matter for specialist teams but as it progressed though the desert campaigns it became a matter for AT guns, with mines increasingly important. In its final stage in Europe every soldier was expected to play his part, with mines and Panzerfausts, in the fight against tanks. The book...

'Infantry Tank Warfare' is the term used in this book to describe the use of armoured vehicles to support infantry in the attack. Although there are chapters covering the experience of armour in the Great War, and inter-war developments, the greater part of the book covers the Second World War. Within the main theme there are three topics: infantry tanks, specialised armour and armoured personnel carriers. Each topic is studied separately by considering the vehicles involved, the manuals for their use, and the actions they were involved in. The result is an appreciation of the fine...

This book covers the British experience of Tank Warfare from its inception in 1916 until its final tactical developments in BAOR. It is a tactical study, covering the training, organisation and deployment of armoured formations. It looks at the design of tanks, the manuals for their use and examples of actions they were used in. It contains short excerpts from the author's 'Cruiser Tank Warfare' and 'Infantry Tank Warfare'.

Naturally the emphasis if the book is on the Second World War. In this conflict Tank Warfare had three main strands based on Cruiser Tanks, Infantry Tanks, and Light...