Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ancient Warfare Volume IV Issue 1 . A multitude of peoples: Before Rome ruled Italy

Ancient Warfare Volume IV Issue 1 . A multitude of peoples: Before Rome ruled Italy. Focusing on the many different peoples who inhabited Italy before the Roman conquest, from their near neighbours in Etruria to the Greek cities of southern Italy, this edition of Ancient Warfare magazine gives us a glimpse of an unfamiliar version of Ancient Italy . [see more]

The Battle of the Berezina, Napoleon's Great Escape, Alexander Mikaberidze

The Battle of the Berezina, Napoleon's Great Escape, Alexander Mikaberidze. A very detailed account of the battles on the Berezina River that marked the end of the real fighting during Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812 and saw Napoleon and his Marshals escape from between three Russian armies, although at a heavy cost. [read full review]

Sea Flight: The Wartime Memoirs of a Fleet Air Arm Pilot, Hugh Popham

Sea Flight: The Wartime Memoirs of a Fleet Air Arm Pilot, Hugh Popham. First published in 1954 this was the first memoir produced by a fighter pilot from the Fleet Air Arm, and captures the feel of the times while the nine year delay means that Popham had time to put his experiences into a wider context, both personally and within the framework of the war. [read full review]

Fw 200 Condor vs Atlantic Convoy 1941-43, Robert Forczyk

Fw 200 Condor vs Atlantic Convoy 1941-43, Robert Forczyk. A well structured examination of the attacks made on Allied convoys by the Fw 200 Condor, described by Churchill as the 'scourge of the Atlantic', and Allied efforts to provide an effective defence against it, which after a slow start saw convoys protected by ever more anti-aircraft guns, fighter aircraft from escort carriers and long range land-based aircraft. [read full review]

Battlefield Sniper - Over 100 Civil War Kills, Lt. Col. Tom C. McKenney

Battlefield Sniper - Over 100 Civil War Kills, Lt. Col. Tom C. McKenney. A flawed but fascinating account of one man's war against Union forces, triggered by the execution and mutilation of two of his sons, falsely identified as Confederate guerrillas. Acting as a lone sniper Hinson claimed at least thirty six victims before the end of the war [read full review]

The Riddles of Wipers, John Ivelaw-Chapman

The Riddles of Wipers, John Ivelaw-Chapman. A detailed examination of the articles contained in the Wipers Times, a newspaper published from the trenches during the First World War, looking at the in-jokes and hidden messages contained in them, and what they tell us about the British soldiers and the war they were fighting. Also includes one complete edition of the paper [read full review]

Save the Last Bullet for Yourself: A Soldier of Fortune in the Balkans and Somalia, Rob Krott

Save the Last Bullet for Yourself: A Soldier of Fortune in the Balkans and Somalia, Rob Krott. A compelling and convincing tale of life as a soldier of fortune in the Balkans and Somalia written by a former US Army officer, Harvard post-graduate student, looking at the first two years of his career as a successful soldier of fortune. [read full review]

Galloglass 1250-1600: Gaelic Mercenary Warrior, Fergus Cannan

Galloglass 1250-1600: Gaelic Mercenary Warrior, Fergus Cannan. An account of the life, equipment and battlefield experience of these mercenaries of Scottish descent who fought in Ireland between the mid 13th and early 17th centuries, taking part in battles between Irish lords and fighting both for and against the English. [read full review]

The Awards of the George Cross, 1940-2009, John Frayn Turner

The Awards of the George Cross, 1940-2009, John Frayn Turner. A chronological look at the 160 recipients of the George Cross, the highest ranked British award for gallantry away from the Front Line, stretching from the first awards in 1940 to that awarded to Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher in 2008. [read full review]

I was Hitler's Chauffeur, Erich Kempka

I was Hitler's Chauffeur, Erich Kempka. One of a series of memoirs written by Hitler's domestic staff, this account focuses on the last days of the Third Reich, and the descent into chaos and delusion in the Berlin bunker, ending with Kempka's role in the disposal of Hitler's corpse. Despite some flaws this is an invaluable eyewitness account from the heart of power in the Third Reich, and as such is of great value. [read full review]

The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in World War II, Adam Zamoyski

The Forgotten Few: The Polish Air Force in World War II, Adam Zamoyski. A complete history of the Polish Air Force during the Second World War, taking is from the campaign in Poland in 1939, to the Fall of France and the Battle of Britain in 1940 and on through the long years of war to the tragic fate of Poland in 1945 and the post-war struggles of so many members of the Air Force. [read full review]

Tracing Your Liverpool Ancestors, Mike Royden

Tracing Your Liverpool Ancestors, Mike Royden. Mixes an economic and social history of Liverpool with a guide for the family historian, looking at both the general process of researching a family tree and topics that are specific to Liverpool, with a guide to relevant archives, print, online and sources. [read full review]

The Great German Escape: Uprising of Hitler's Nazis in Britain's POW Camps, Charles Whiting

The Great German Escape: Uprising of Hitler's Nazis in Britain's POW Camps, Charles Whiting. A book with two themes - the first a daring plan by German POWs to break out of their camps late in 1944 and march on London, the second the fate of Baron Freiherr von der Heydte, a German paratrooper commander whose exploits in the Ardennes helped give the plot much of its credibility. [read full review]

Kawasaki Ki-10, Ki-32, Ki-45, Ki-88 and Ki-91

The Kawasaki Ki-10 'Perry' was the best biplane fighter to serve with the Imperial Japanese Army, and was a highly manoeuvrable aircraft that had a big influence on the design of later monoplane fighters
The Kawasaki Ki-32 'Mary' was a single-engined light bomber slightly superior to the contemporary Fairey Battle, and that benefited greatly from operating against limited aerial opposition over China during the second Sino-Japanese War
The Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Dragon Slayer) was originally designed as a twin-engined heavy fighter in the same class as the Messerschmitt Bf-110, but saw most service as a ground-attack aircraft and night fighter
The Kawasaki Ki-88 was a design for a fighter aircraft inspired by the Bell P-39 Airacobra, with the engine mounted behind the cockpit
The designation Kawasaki Ki-91 was given to a design for a four-engined heavy bomber under development in Japan between 1943 and 1945

Mitsubishi Ki-67, Ki-83, Ki-95, Ki-103 and Ki-109

The Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryu (Flying Dragon) 'Peggy' was the best bomber to serve with the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War, but arrived too late to make any significant contribution to the Japanese war effort
The Mitsubishi Ki-83 was a long-range escort fighter in the same class as the Grumman F7F Tigercat or de Havilland Hornet, but that never progressed beyond the prototype stage.
The Mitsubishi Ki-95 was to have been a command reconnaissance aircraft based on the Ki-83 twin engined fighter.
The Mitsubishi Ki-103 was an advanced version of the Mitsubishi Ki-83 twin engined fighter which was under development at the end of the Second World War.
The designation Mitsubishi Ki-109 was used for two different attempts to produce an interceptor based on Ki-67 heavy bomber that would be capable of shooting down the new B-29 Superfortress

Conquests of Muhammad of Ghur

The conquests of Muhammad of Ghur (1175-1206) established the first great Muslim empire in Northern India, stretching from the Punjab to Bengal
Jaichand Gaharwar or Jaichandra Gahadavala (ruled 1173-1193) was the last member of the Gahawar dynasty, which ruled large parts of the Gangetic Doab from 1090 until his defeat at Chandwar in 1193.
The battle of Gujarat or Kayadara (1178) was a defeat suffered by Muhammad of Ghur during his first campaign against a Hindu ruler in India
The battle of Chandwar (1193 or 1194) was the second major victory won by Muhammad of Ghor in northern India, after the second battle of Taraori.
The first battle of Taraori (or Tarain) of 1191 was a rare defeat suffered by Muhammad of Ghur during the series of campaigns in Northern India that laid the foundations of the Delhi Sultanate
The siege of Bhatinda of 1191-2 took place between the two battles of Taraoir (1191 and 1192) fought between Muhammad of Ghur and Prithviraja Chauhana III of Delhi, and saw Prithviraja recapture the fortress before suffering defeat and death during the second battle of Taraoir
The second battle of Taraori (or Tarain) of 1192 was a decisive victory won by Muhammad of Ghur one year after he had suffered a rare defeat on the same site and that left northern India vulnerable to conquest