Kategoria BISAC: History >> Military - Weapons

Extensively illustrated with 52 detailed campaign and battle maps and diagrams, this book, originally published in 1990, surveys the evolution of warfare in Europe from Napoleon to the end of the twentieth century and in Asia from the Middle Ages. It considers the interaction of technology and warfare. With wide-ranging examples, the book includes two in depth case studies, one on the Soviet Operational Manoeuvre Group and its predecessors in the Russian Imperial Army, the other on the history of land warfare, including guerilla warfare, in Asia. In this book the author demonstrates that...

The Roman Empire was not only built by the strength of the legions but also by a Navy that was the most powerful maritime force ever to have existed. It was only the existence of the fleet that secured the trade routes and maintained the communications within the huge Empire. At the height of its power the Roman Navy employed tens of thousands of sailors, marines and craftsmen, coming from every corner of the three continents under the rule of the Caesars.
This book reveals the design and development history of Rome's naval force at the height of its Imperial Power. As well as...

In the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union unveiled the BMP-1, the first true "infantry fighting vehicle." A revolutionary design, the BMP marked a significant departure from the traditional "armored personnel carrier," sporting a lower silhouette and a higher-caliber armament than rival APCs. One of the most fearsome light-armored vehicles of its day, it caused great consternation on the other side of the Iron Curtain as the Americans scrambled to design a machine to rival the BMP. The result was the M2 Bradley; however, the American type seemed to be at an immediate disadvantage, with a higher...

World War I's defining weapon for many, Germany's MG 08 machine gun won a formidable reputation on battlefields from Tannenberg to the Somme, while its more mobile successor, the MG 08/15, played a central role in the revolutionary developments in infantry tactics that characterized the last months of the conflict. Even in the 1940s, the two weapons would be pressed into service with German forces fighting in a new world war.

Drawing upon eyewitness battlefield reports, this absorbing study assesses the technical performance and combat record of these redoubtable and influential...

When the Red Army needed to mechanize its cavalry branch in the 1930s, the BT fast tank was its solution. Channeling the American Christie high-speed tank, the Red Army began a program to adapt the design to its own needs. Early versions were mechanically unreliable and poorly armed, but by the mid-1930s, the BT-5 emerged, armed with an excellent dual-purpose 45mm gun. It saw its combat debut in the Spanish Civil War in 1937 and was later used in the border battles with the Japanese Kwantung Army in the late 1930s. The final production series, the BT-7, was the most refined version of the...

No one has ever written the history of the Defense Department's most secret, most powerful, and most controversial military science R&D agency. In the first-ever history about the organization, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen draws on inside sources, exclusive interviews, private...

As infantry units advanced across Europe the only support they could rely on from day to day was that provided by the heavy weapons of their own units. While thundering tanks struck fear into the hearts of their enemies, it was the machine guns, mortars, and light cannon that proved to be most important, causing the majority of casualties suffered during World War II. Common principles were shared across units but the wide variety of weapons available to the different armies altered the way they were used in battle.

Focusing on the US, British, German, and Soviet troops, this...

One of the most feared weapons in the ancient world, the gladius was lethal both on the battlefield and in the arena. Literary sources tell of the terror it inspired, while archaeological evidence of wounds inflicted is testament to its deadly effect. By pulling together strands of literary, sculptural, and archaeological evidence, renowned expert M.C. Bishop creates a narrative of the gladius' development, exploring the way in which the shape of the short sword changed as soldiers and gladiators evolved their fighting style.

Drawing together historical accounts, excavated artifacts,...