Kategoria BISAC: History >> Military - Uniforms

The armies of Scandinavia and the Low Countries bore the first crushing impact of Hitler's mighty Blitzkrieg war machine in Western Europe, in campaigns that astonished and terrified the world.

The German Wehrmacht was millions strong, equipped with the latest guns, tanks and aircraft, and had the priceless advantage of having learned the realities of modern warfare in Poland the previous September. The defenders of Scandinavia and the Low Countries were raised from small populations, and were inadequately funded, trained, equipped and armed. Their modest numbers, inexperience, and...

One of the least-published campaigns ofWorld War I (1914-1918)was that fought in East Africa by forces of colonial troops British Empire, Belgian, Portuguese and German. Short of resources, many European, African and Indian soldiers recorded epics of endurance as they hunted the outnumbered but brilliantly led German colonial forces across a disease-ridden wilderness.
The achievements of Paul von Lettow Vorbeck the last German commander in the field to lay down his arms brought him fame and respect comparable to that won by Rommel in World War II. The events and the forces are...

The Royal Hungarian Army was Germany's largest ally on the Eastern Front during World War II (1939-1945), providing a vital contribution in terms of both men and equipment. Information about the Hungarian Army in English is rare, and in this book co-authors Nigel Thomas and Hungarian expert Laszlo Szabo fill in the gaps about an important German ally.

Deployed in Ukraine at the beginning of the war, the Hungarian Army were involved in a number of brutal encounters with the Red Army, including stubborn resistance in Transylvania in the summer of 1944 and the brave defence of Budapest...

The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC threw the Macedonians into confusion; there was no capable heir, and no clear successor among the senior figures in Alexander's circle. Initial attempts to preserve the unity of Alexander's conquests gave way to a period of bloody and prolonged warfare (322-275 BC), and the break-up of this glittering but momentary empire.

Macedonia, the heartland of Alexander's dominions, was ruled first by the heirs of Antipater, Alexander's regent, and then by the descendents of Alexander's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ('the One-Eyed'). For well over...

In the years between 31 BC and AD 500 the Romans carved out a mighty empire stretching from Britain to the deserts of North Africa. The men who spearheaded this expansion were the centurions, the tough, professional warriors who led from the front, exerted savage discipline and provided a role model for the legionaries under their command.

This book, the second volume of a two-part study, reveals the appearance, weaponry, role and impact of these legendary soldiers during the five centuries that saw the Roman Empire reach its greatest geographical extent under Trajan and Hadrian,...

In August 1745 Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender', landed in Scotland and sparked the Second Jacobite Rising. The Jacobite forces seized Perth, then Edinburgh, where they proclaimed the Young Pretender's father King James VIII; they trounced their Hanoverian opponents at Prestonpans and crossed into England, getting as far south as Derby before withdrawing into Scotland. Far from universally popular north of the border, the Jacobite army bested another Hanoverian army at Falkirk and besieged Stirling, only to be routed by the Duke of Cumberland's army at Culloden in April 1746, a...

From humble beginnings, in the course of three centuries the Portuguese built the world's first truly global empire, stretching from modern Brazil to sub-Saharan Africa and from India to the East Indies (Indonesia). Portugal had established its present-day borders by 1300 and the following century saw extensive warfare that confirmed Portugal's independence and allowed it to aspire to maritime expansion, sponsored by monarchs such as Prince Henry the Navigator.

Intent on finding a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade, the Portuguese discovered a route down Africa's...

This book offers an extensive overview of the myriad Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39. The conflict was the curtain-raiser to World War II, and the major international event of the 1930s. The study illustrates, textually and visually, how the Republican forces were initially varied in appearance and character. Loyal elements of the Spanish army that rejected the appeal of the rebel generals were supported by a wide range of volunteer regional units and political militias, and by volunteers from many other countries.
These disparate forces were later...

Between 1864 and 1870 four nations fought in an extraordinarily bloody war - the largest in the history of South America. The powerhouses Argentina and Brazil alongside tiny Uruguay on one side, and the small but increasingly-powerful Paraguay on the other, fought a conflict that was almost contemporary with the American Civil War and Franco-Prussian War, and rivalled their very high casualty rates. The aftermath of the war saw defeated Paraguay's territory diminished, its total population reduced by a staggering 70 per cent, and its economy ruined for generations, while victorious Brazil...

The Pacific War was the climax of the decades-long Wars of Liberation, and is one of the most important conflicts in South American history. After winning their independence from Spain in 1825, Peru and Bolivia became separate nations - but over the following years repeated attempts to re-unite them were frustrated by the neighboring powers, particularly Chile.

By the 1870s Chilean military superiority and expansionist policies exploded into full scale conflict. This book examines the troops, uniforms and equipment used by forces on all three sides of the conflict and traces the...

After the Fall of France in 1940, a new puppet state was set up in the south. Officially known as the French State, it is better known as Vichy France. This collaborationist Vichy regime's armed forces were more active and usually more numerous than German troops in the task of hunting down and crushing the maquis--the French Resistance guerrilla forces .

This book covers the organization and operations of Vichy French Security Forces, including: the new Vichy Police Nationale, particularly their Groupes Mobiles de Reserve, the Service d'Ordre Legionnaire, and the Milice Francaise, a...