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The medieval English longbow has been the subject of considerable debate. The English Longbow - Investigating a Myth will draw out the arguments concerning it and produce a balanced and convincing summary. The book opens with a detailed description of the weapon system - the bow, arrow, and arrowheads. The origin of the longbow has been much discussed and the Shortbow-Longbow conundrum is examined in depth. The longbow's capabilities and effectiveness are evaluated using recent research allied to contemporary accounts. The part the bow played in the 'Infantry Revolution' and the longbow's relationship with the crossbow are covered.The longbow could only be employed in war if the monarch could mobilise the resources needed to manufacture it and if English society could provide the strong-backed archers able to use it. These issues are investigated, including a consideration of the legal and societal framework needed.The English Longbow - Investigating a Myth is an honest appraisal of the longbow. It is not a book of battles but one that describes how the bow was used, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. It provides a comprehensive and balanced assessment of what was and remains the weapon that made Britain.

Confrontation of Kings presents, for the first time in English, the largest battle of the war of the Swedish Deluge (1655-1660). During three days of fighting, the Swedish-Brandenburg Alliance faced the combined Polish, Lithuanian, and Tatar armies. It was a clash between Western and Eastern styles of warfare, but it was also a clash between the irreconcilable Polish and Swedish monarchs, John II Casimir and Charles X Gustavus, over hegemony in the Baltic region. This is an in-depth study of the battle based on contemporary sources, including previously unpublished archival materials, many of which were written by soldiers who took part in the struggle. In addition, Confrontation of Kings provides full details on the dissimilar military systems of Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Tatar Khanate of the Crimea, with detailed reconstructions of the organisation and strength of the armies that confronted each other at Warsaw. The book will equally appeal to enthusiasts of military history and professional historians. The authors present new research on a war previously seldom described in English, describing the battle from the perspective of both sides. As well as examining the wider picture of the previous campaigns in Poland and the events that led up to the battle itself.

The Battle of Lens marked the climax of a decade of war between France and Spain; the two contenders were exhausted, having fought in Spain, France, Flanders, Italy and Germany. The conflict would be settled in a pitched battle near the city of Lens, Flanders, in the summer of 1648.The Spanish had neutralised the Dutch for the campaign of 1648, so they prepared to launch a major offensive against the French, who had occupied important cities in Flanders for years. Thus, the new governor, Archduke Leopold William, brother of Emperor Ferdinand III of Habsburg, took charge of an army of almost 20,000 troops.The French were commanded by the Prince of Condé, who knew how to instil a spirit of resistance in his troops.The two armies carried out marches and countermarches to outwit their opponent and seize cities: Condé conquered Ypres, but the Archduke took Lens. Condé tried to rescue the city, but arrived too late. However, the campaign was not lost for France; the brilliant Condé decided to deploy his army on the plain to decide the campaign, its own prestige, and the fate of the war.

King George's Army: British Regiments and the Men who Led Them 1793-1815 will contain five volumes, with coverage given to army administration and cavalry regiments (Volume 1), infantry regiments (Volumes 2, 3 and 4), and ordnance (Volume 5). It is the natural extension to the web series of the same name by the same author which existed on the Napoleon Series from 2009 until 2019, but greatly expanded to include substantially more biographical information as well as biographies of leading political figures concerned with the administration of the army as well as commanders in chief of all major commands.Volume 4 covers in great detail the 61st to 104th Regiments of Foot within the army of King George the Third for the period of the Great War with France; and the men who commanded them. Regimental data provided includes shortform regimental lineages, service locations and dispositions for the era, battle honours won, tables of authorised establishments, demographics of the field officer cohorts and of the men, even sources of recruits from the militia. But the book is essentially concerned with the field officers, the lieutenant colonels and majors who commanded the regiments, and Volume 4 alone contains around 1,000 mini-biographies of men who exercised such command, including their dates of birth and death, parentage, education, career (including political), awards and honours, and places of residence. Volume 5 will extend the coverage to ultimately record over 4,500 biographies across more than 200 regiments.These biographies will show the regimental system in action, officers routinely transferring between regiments for advancement or opportunity, captains who were also (brevet) colonels, many who retired early, some who stayed the distance to become major generals and beyond. Where it has been possible to accurately ascertain, advancement by purchase, exchange or promotion has also been noted.Readers with military ancestors will no doubt find much of interest within, and the author hopes that the work will allow readers to break down a few 'brick walls'; either through connecting to the officers recorded, or through an understanding of the movements of the regiments around the world, or from the volunteering patterns of the militia regiments into the regular army.Encyclopaedic in scope, and aimed to be a lasting source of reference material for the British army that fought the French Revolution and Napoleon between 1793 and 1815, King George's Army: British Regiments and the Men who Led Them will hopefully be a necessary addition to every military and family history library for years to come.

On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and England, siding alongside its German ally which had been at war since September 1939. Abandoning the policy of non-belligerence and keeping faith with the Pact of Steel signed with Germany Hitler, fascist Italy went to war after the German armies had already conquered half of Europe. A short but tough campaign to fight especially due to the nature of the terrain, which put the Italian troops to the test, who ultimately emerged victorious.

For the first time, the detailed course of events has been reconstructed and the reasons for the defeat of the Russian army are analysed. This account is based on the author's own observations and first-hand interviews with hundreds of Ukrainian participants in the battle as he found himself cut off and surrounded in the city of Chernihiv during the crucial first months of the war.War in Ukraine Volume 10: The Battle of Chernihiv, February-March 2022 is extensively illustrated with the author's own photographs of these pivotal events, along with specially commissioned colour artworks and maps.

Soviet military doctrine long placed great emphasis upon the use of massed artillery and its use was honed to a fine art during the Great Patriotic War. In the early part of the Cold War this arm was allowed to atrophy in an era where it was expected that nuclear weapons would dominate the battlefield from the outset. During the 1960s, 70s and 80s however the Soviet artillery arm underwent a renaissance and large numbers of the resulting generation of weapons systems were passed on to the inheritor states of the USSR in the 1990s.While Russia was able to maintain its Soviet-legacy artillery systems, and introduce some new developments, Ukraine was much less able to do so and in particular lacked the levels of ammunition reserves and manufacturing capability of Russia. Inevitably, Ukraine turned to the West and began to receive weapons and ammunition from NATO and allied nations.Despite the critical role gun artillery plays in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, the technical aspects and histories of the individual artillery systems used by both sides have received relatively little attention in English, where they are often lumped together as generic 'artillery'. This book aims to rectify this deficiency in the accessible literature and examine the major tube artillery systems and mortars employed by both sides in this conflict.War in Ukraine Volume 9: Artillery 2022-2024 is illustrated throughout with original colour photographs and the @War series signature colour artworks.

Military aviation in Spain in 1936 consisted of a small number of outdated and obsolete aircraft. With the outbreak of war countries such as Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union saw an opportunity to test and develop different types of aircraft that were supplied to the two sides. The aid provided to the warring sides was not limited to aircraft however and included pilots such as the Germans who fought with the Condor Legion for the Nationalists.Experience of the air war in Spain would also be carried forward and used to develop the tactics and doctrines that would be successfully employed in the early years of the Second World War, including the use of air bridges, close air support coordinated with ground troops and large-scale aerial bombing of industrial and civilian targets.This volume describes the main actions of the early phases of the war and the personalities and aces involved in those actions. The Spanish Civil War in the Air: Volume 1, 1936-1937 is extensively illustrated throughout with original photographs, illustrations of the badges and insignia of the participants, and includes the @War series signature colour artworks.

This work is one of the first published histories to examine this battle in its entirety, from the dramatic heliborne assault on Hostomel to the mauling of Russian units fleeing encirclement during Ukraine's counteroffensive. Drawing from a synthesis of newly available Ukrainian and Russian accounts and Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering, Volume 8 builds upon the work conducted in Volumes 2, 5, and 6 to provide a richer and more comprehensive picture of the Russian axes of advance on Kyiv and their eventual defeats.The opening events of the operation are recast in the light of contemporary evidence, revealing new aspects of the controversial Ukrainian counterattack against Hostomel Airport late on 24 February 2022 for instance, whilst many previously unsung engagements of the subsequent fighting are detailed herein for the first time.This volume, extensively illustrated with full colour photography, maps, and original artworks of the soldiers, vehicles, and aircraft involved, will be enjoyed by any individual interested in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Over the course of the Napoleonic wars, the French emperor mobilised over two million fighting men - most of them conscripts. Napoleon's Conscripts tells their story. Exploring the system of conscription and soldiers' experiences of service, it sheds light on the lives of ordinary men who marched beneath the emperor's eagles.From its introduction in 1798 until the fall of the empire in 1815, conscription provided Napoleon with the manpower for the almost incessant military campaigns that saw French troops fight across Europe from the Atlantic coast to the edge of the Russian steppes, the deserts of North Africa, and the islands of the West Indies. Conscription influenced not only who was in the French army and how they experienced military life but, ultimately, how the army operated both on and off the battlefield.Napoleon's Conscripts looks into this vital but often overlooked issue, peeling back the curtain to explain how conscription worked, how conscripts moved from farm to front line, and how conscription influenced the French army and its soldiers.Based on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including offering unique insights from the original service records of tens of thousands of soldiers from across the French empire, Napoleon's Conscripts will appeal to anyone with an interest in Napoleon's campaigns, the French army, or French society of the early nineteenth century.

The events of the 1798 Rebellion are still very much all around us. In many ways, the Rebellion, its campaign and aftermath, set the tone for political relations on the island of Ireland for centuries to come. It has been seen as a formative event in the creation of the Irish Republic and has been used as a 'rallying cry' within nationalism - and a 'cautionary tale' within unionism - ever since.Yet, it was so much more than this. It was a seemingly localised insurrection, but it came at a perilous time when Britain seemed almost alone in combating the ideals and war aims of Revolutionary France. The danger of an independent republican Ireland on its doorstep, spreading radicalism across the British landscape, became obviously apparent as similar organisations (such as the United Englishmen and United Scotsmen) appeared. Consequently, the 1798 Rebellion is a vitally important campaign, not only in an Irish national context but from a pluralistic British perspective as well.Whilst the actual rebellion was brutal and short, it had long-lasting repercussions. For some involved, their campaign ended in transportation to the colonies or on scaffolds, whilst others found themselves in redcoats, fighting alongside their former enemies - or in other nation's armies continuing their own personal war.Using exciting and gripping primary sources and accounts, combined with existing archaeological and topographical evidence, With Deadly Slaughter hopes to place a fresh perspective on, as Thomas Paine called it, the '...times that try men's souls'.

Britain carried out many amphibious operations during the long-eighteenth century, ranging from raids to the landing of whole armies. British Amphibious Warfare 1739-1815 provides case-studies of some of these operations, and explores why their outcomes ranged from great successes to major disasters, with no obvious long-term learning curve. Many of the mistakes at Cartagena in 1741 were replicated at Walcheren in 1809, condemning soldiers in both campaigns to lingering deaths from fever. Between the two we find successes including Louisbourg (twice), Quebec, Belleisle, and Charleston, and the textbook landings at Aboukir Bay in 1801 that delivered Abercromby's army to Egypt, but also failures at Lorient, St Cast, Ostend, New Orleans and elsewhere. What factors ensured that some expeditions succeeded where others failed? What lessons were learned along the way, and why were they not consistently applied thereafter?British Amphibious Warfare 1739-1815, built on papers presented at the 2023 From Reason to Revolution conference but also bringing in additional contributors and material, provides an overview of Britain's amphibious operations from the early part of the eighteenth century to the close of the Napoleonic era, an examination of the earliest attempts to develop amphibious doctrine by Thomas More Molyneux, and a series of case-studies that examine both successes and failures. Case studies include: Cartegena 1741, Louisbourg 1745, Lorient 1746, Belleisle 1761, the Delaware River 1777, Charleston 1780, Ceylon 1795-1796, Aboukir Bay 1801, Walcheren 1809, and amphibious raiding in the Adriatic during the Napoleonic Wars.

Generals Auchinleck, Slim and Savory and their role in the campaigns in Northeast India and Burma (Myanmar) have been largely forgotten in the historiography of the Second World War. Prime Minister Winston Churchill sacked General Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre after the First Battle of Alamein. However, Auchinleck became C-in-C India for the remainder of the Second World War. In this role, he was essential in making sure the Indian Army was geared towards jungle warfare, but also improved the lot of both Indian officers and men not least by improving pay and conditions.General William Slim is perhaps better known as the successful commander of the 14th Army who also wrote one of the best books on the war: Defeat into Victory, an apt description of the campaign in Burma. He was a popular commander and referred to as General 'Bill' Slim by the British and Indian soldiers who served under him. Auchinleck and Slim both became Field Marshals after the war. Major General Reginald Savory played an essential role as the Director of Infantry from 1943 until the end of the war. He made sure that all infantry battalions and training establishments across India were trained for jungle warfare. His was a forgotten role that until now has not been documented. He retired as a Lieutenant General having been Adjutant General until the Independence of India and Pakistan in 1947.The appointments of Auchinleck, Slim and Savory in 1943 were an important factor in the eventual defeat of the Imperial Japanese Army in Burma. It helped that the key figures in Indian military affairs were, for the first time in the war, all drawn from the Indian Army and thus understood the traditions and ways of the Indian Army.

The year 1918 was the most dramatic of the entire First World War. It was defined by vast battles that put the British Army under enormous pressure. In March, the army found itself fighting for survival in the face of the massive German Spring Offensive. After immense Allied efforts the assault was halted by the summer, at which point the British Army switched to a sustained offensive of its own in the Hundred Days Campaign.This book brings together leading historians of the First World War to consider the British Army in the final year of the conflict. It includes essays that examine strategy, key commanders, logistics, training, tactics, airpower and armoured warfare. Lavishly illustrated and with full colour maps, this book provides many new insights that will be of great interest to any student of the First World War.

Examines Nazi Germany's efforts to develop nuclear weapons and their associated delivery systems during WWII.How close did Hitler come to his dream of developing nuclear weapons? What evidence is there for the design, testing and production of such weapons, and their carrier systems?In his efforts to answer these questions, Friedrich Georg has produced a groundbreaking book. Volume 1 describes the efforts of the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine to design and produce carrier-systems for the nuclear weapons the Third Reich was developing. These included the search for an intercontinental 'Amerikabomber', as well as lighter designs, such as the Arado Ar E 555, Messerschmitt P 1107 & 1108, and Junkers EF 132 & 140. The various atom bombs themselves are thoroughly investigated, from the 1-ton to the massive 30-ton variety. Information about the variety of carrier systems being developed by the Kriegsmarine is also provided. Finally, the author investigates the reasons why Germany ultimately failed to produce the atom bomb.As well as black & white photos and other images, Hitler's Miracle Weapons Volume 1 features 16 full pages of colour plates, including colour profiles of the various craft described in the text, computer-generated artwork showing these craft 'in action', and images of the some of the author's scratchbuilt models of various weapons systems!

Half of the book is a detailed description of three battles fought over four days in the Rhineland south of Goch between 27 February and March 2 1945. The other half of the book is an analysis of the units and involved. This book's fully documented and researched conclusions provide a new and controversial interpretation of 21 Army Group.

From the early 18th century Scotland produced large numbers of medical graduates, many of whom joined the armed forces. This book outlines the contributions which these doctors made to military and naval medicine from the 18th century to WWI. Each of the 12 chapters is based on a presentation made to an online symposium held by the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine in association with the History Society of the Royal Society of Medicine. The authors are experts in their respective fields.Scotland's Contribution gives new insights into established leaders in this developing speciality including Sir John Pringle and Sir James McGrigor, while Sir Charles Bell's legacy to military surgery, his artwork, is given a fresh analysis. Other chapters outline the remarkable saga of Dr James Barry, the first trans man to qualify in medicine in Britain and the painstaking detective work of Sir David Bruce in discovering the cause of brucellosis. One of the chapters on WWI describes the work of Gray, Fraser and Wade while the other is an account of a Scottish Women's Hospital unit in Salonika. There are also accounts of less well-known figures.Scotland's Contribution will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of military medicine and surgery, and to anyone with an interest in the history of medicine in Scotland.Contributors to the book are: Tom Scotland, Peter Starling, Michael Crumplin, Max Cooper, David Vassallo, Peter Brinsden, Carol Parry, and Cat Irving