Semovente da 75/32

The Semovente da 75/32 was a self-propelled gun that was produced in small numbers before being abandoned in favour of the more powerful Semovente de 75/34.

Semovente da 75/18

The Semovente da 75/18 was the first in a series of Italian self-propelled guns to be based on the chassis of the M 13/ M 14 and M 15 Medium Tanks, and mounted a more powerful gun than the medium tank it was based on.

USS West Virginia (BB 48)

USS West Virginia (BB 48) was a Colorado Class battleship that was the most seriously damaged of the ships sunk at Pearl Harbor to return to combat duties, taking part in the last year of the war in the Pacific.

USS Washington (BB 47)

USS Washington (BB 47) was a member of the Colorado Class of battleships, but work on her was abandoned after the Washington Naval Treaty was signed and she was instead used as a gunnery target.

USS Maryland (BB 46)

USS Maryland (BB 46) was a Colorado class battleship that suffered only minor damage at Pearl Harbor and was in service for almost the entire Pacific War, taking part in the invasions of the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Marianas Islands, the Palaus, the Philippines and Okinawa.

Battle of Leyte Gulf (22-26 October 1944)

The battle of Leyte Gulf (22-26 October 1944) was one of the largest and most complex naval battles in history and ended as a massive American victory that effectively destroying the fighting capability of the Japanese navy.

Battle off Formosa (12-16 October 1944)

The battle off Formosa (12-16 October 1944) was an air battle between Japanese naval aircraft based on Formosa and the aircraft of the US 3rd Fleet that ended with an overwhelming American victory that crippled Japanese naval air power just days before the battle of Leyte Gulf (23-26 October 1944).

Semovente da 47/32

The Semovente da 47/32 was a self-propelled light tank destroyer based on the chassis of the L 6-40 light tank.

M 15-42 Medium Tank

The M 15-42 was the final Italian medium tank of the Second World War, but was only just entering service at the Italian Armistice in September 1943.

No.622 Squadron

No.622 Squadron was a heavy bomber squadron that formed part of Bomber Command's main force from the summer of 1943 until the end of 1945.

No.621 Squadron

No.621 Squadron was a general reconnaissance squadron that spend 1943-45 engaged in anti-submarine warfare and general maritime patrols in the seas off East Africa and in the Red Sea.

No.620 Squadron

No.620 Squadron was formed in 1943 as a heavy bomber squadron, but after 61 missions became a transport and airborne forces squadron, flying a mix of glider towing, paratrooper and air supply missions.

Medieval Warfare Vol II Issue 1: Creating a Viking Empire: The Campaigns of Cnut the Great..

Medieval Warfare Vol II Issue 1: Creating a Viking Empire: The Campaigns of Cnut the Great..

Focuses on the career of Cnut the Great, one of the great conquerors of the Medieval World and a man who created an empire all around the North Sea. Also looks at Hunedoara Castle, the late medieval armour industry and the Battle of Tewkesbury.
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The Pacific War Uncensored, Harold Guard with John Tring.

The Pacific War Uncensored, Harold Guard with John Tring.

 The memoirs of a British war correspondent who covered the disastrous campaigns in Malaya, Singapore and Java, before escaping to Australia from where he reported on the Allied fight-back on New Guinea. An invaluable first-hand account of the British and Allied defeats in south-east Asia from someone who was caught up in them.
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Battleground Verdun: Fort Vaux, Christina Holstein.

Battleground Verdun: Fort Vaux, Christina Holstein.

A detailed account of the siege of Fort Vaux, a short but important part of the wider Battle of Verdun, combined with a history of the fort and four self-guided tours of Fort Vaux and the surrounding area. A splendid account of a claustrophobic battle fought in horrendous conditions.
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USS Colorado (BB 45)

USS Colorado (BB 45) was the name ship of the Colorado class of battleships, the last US battleships built before the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. She was undergoing a refit when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and thus escaped damage. She took part in the invasions of Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Guam and Tinian, the landings at Leyte Gulf and the invasion of Okinawa

Colorado class battleships

The Colorado class battleships were the last class of 'old' battleships completed for the US Navy, and were a repeat of the previous Tennessee class but with twin 16in gun turrets replacing the triple 14in turrets of the older ships.

USS California (BB 44)

USS California (BB 44) was the second Tennessee class battleship and despite being sunk at Pearl Harbor was repaired in time to take part in the last year of fighting in the Pacific.

USS Tennessee (BB 43)

USS Tennessee (BB 43) was the name-ship of the Tennessee class of battleships. She survived Pearl Harbor with only minor damage and was present at many of the battles during the American advance across the Pacific towards Japan, from the Aleutians to Okinawa.

Tennessee class battleships

The Tennessee class battleships were modified versions of the earlier New Mexico class ships, with an improved system of anti-torpedo protection and turbo-electric engines.

M 14-41 Medium Tank

The M 14-41 Medium Tank was an improved version of the M 13-40, with a more powerful engine and better desert equipment.

M 13-40 Medium Tank

The M 13-40 Medium Tank was the most important Italian tank of the Second World War, and due to the slow development of better medium tanks and the P 40 Heavy Tank had to bear the brunt of the fighting in North Africa despite being under-gunned and under-armoured by 1941-42.

M 11-39 Medium Tank

The M 11-39 Medium Tank was the first in a series of medium tanks that provided the main equipment of the Italian Armoured Divisions during the Second World War, but the M 11 itself was outdated by 1940 and most were lost in the first British offensive in the Western Desert.

L 6-40 Light Tank

The L 6-40 Light Tank was the first Italian light tank to be equipped with a fully traversing turret.

Roman Conquests: Asia Minor, Syria and Armenia, Richard Evans.

Roman Conquests: Asia Minor, Syria and Armenia, Richard Evans.

A study of the series of wars that saw the Romans defeat the Seleucid Empire, gain control of much of Asia Minor and then fight a series of costly wars against Mithridates VI of Pontus, a conflict that took them further east than ever before, into Armenia.
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Images of War: Leningrad, Hero City, Nik Cornish.

Images of War: Leningrad, Hero City, Nik Cornish.

A pictorial history of the long siege of Leningrad, illustrated with a well-chosen and well balanced mix of pictures from both sides of the line. Supported by a brief account of the siege that follows both side's activities and plans and how events elsewhere on the front affected the situation around Leningrad.
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French Foreign Legionnaire, 1890-1914, Martin Windrow.

French Foreign Legionnaire, 1890-1914, Martin Windrow.

A study of the French Foreign Legionnaire in the quarter of a century before the outbreak of the First World War, a period that saw them fight in North Africa and Vietnam. Looks at the recruitment, training, daily life and combat experience of one of the most famous and most notorious of military units.
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No.619 Squadron

No.619 Squadron was a heavy bomber squadron that formed part of Bomber Command's main force from 1943 until the end of the Second World War.

No.618 Squadron

No.618 Squadron was formed to use a scaled down version of Barnes Wallis' 'bouncing bomb' as an anti-shipping weapon, but despite a great deal of effort and a transfer to the Far East the squadron never carried out an attack with its new weapon.

No.617 Squadron

No.617 Squadron is undoubtedly the most famous RAF squadron of the Second World War, earning that fame on its very first operational sortie, the famous dams raid of 16/17 May 1943. The 'dambusters' went on to become a highly accurate precision bombing squadron, reserved for special targets – either small scale, difficult to hit or that required the use of Barnes Wallis's other special bombs of the Second World War, the Tallboy and Grand Slam.

L 3-38 Light Tank

The L 3-38 Light Tank was the last entry in the series of Italian light tanks that had started with the CV.29 and that played a part in Italian military successes of the 1930s.

L 3-35 Light Tank

The L 3-35 Light Tank was an improved version of the earlier L 3-33, with better armour and an improved engine.

L 3-33 Light Tank

The L 3-33 Light Tank was the first in a series of three-ton light tanks that were still in Italian service during the Second World War.

Carro Veloce 29 Tankette (CV.29)

The Carro Veloce 29 Tankette (CV.29) was the designation given to an Italian version of the British Carden-Loyd Mk VI tankette (a two man tracked vehicle with an open crew compartment)

Fiat 3000

The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be mass-produced in Italy and was an improved version of the French Renault FT.

Fiat 2000

The Fiat 2000 was the first tank to be built in Italy, and was a private venture paid for by Fiat.

Grand Duke Constantine (1779-1831)

The Grand Duke Constantine (1779-1831) was the younger brother of Tsar Alexander I and was his heir until he chose to marry Johanna Grudzinska, a Polish lady.

General Alexander Mikhailovich Korsakov (or Rimsky-Korsakov), 1753-1840

General Alexander Mikhailovich Korsakov (or Rimsky-Korsakov), 1753-1840, was a Russian general best known for his defeat at the Second battle of Zurich in September 1799, but who went on to serve as governor of Lithuania for thirty years.

No.616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron

No.616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron was a fighter squadron that became the first operational squadron to use a jet aircraft when it was equipped with the Gloster Meteor during 1944.

No.615 (County of Surrey) Squadron

No.615 (County of Surrey) Squadron was a fighter squadron that took part in the Battle of Britain and the early sweeps over France before moving to Burma, where it performed a mix of offensive and defensive duties for the rest of the war.

No.613 (City of Manchester) Squadron

No.613 (City of Manchester) Squadron had a very varied wartime career, beginning as an army cooperation squadron and flying coastal patrols, air-sea rescue missions, tactical reconnaissance and fighter-bomber missions before ending the war as a night intruder squadron.

Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front, Günter K. Koschorrek.

Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front, Günter K. Koschorrek.

Based on diaries and notes taken during the war, these memoirs tell the story of one German soldier during the long years of retreat that began at Stalingrad and ended in this case on the Baltic front. Gives a ground level view of the brutal nature of the fighting on the Eastern Front
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Roman Conquests: Gaul, Michael M. Sage.

Roman Conquests: Gaul, Michael M. Sage.

 Briefly covers the conquest of the Gaul's of northern Italy and the province in southern France, but most of the book focuses on Caesar's conquest of Gaul, as famously documented by Caesar himself. Other sources are used when possible, so this is more than just a reworking of the Gallic Wars, and is a useful entry in this series.
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Images of War: German Half-Tracks at War 1939-1945, Paul Thomas.

Images of War: German Half-Tracks at War 1939-1945, Paul Thomas.

A photographic study of the half-track, a key component in the German Blitzkrieg, allowing the infantry and support troops to keep up with the rapidly moving panzers. A very focused book covering all types of half-track, organised in chronological order and of great value to anyone with an interest in this topic.
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No.612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron

No.612 (County of Aberdeen) Squadron served with Coastal Command throughout the Second World War, spending most of the war operating from the UK but for the first half of 1942 it was based on Iceland.

No.611 (West Lancashire) Squadron

No.611 (West Lancashire) Squadron was a fighter squadron that flew a mix of offensive and defensive missions, ending the war as an escort squadron.

No.610 (County of Chester) Squadron

No.610 (County of Chester) Squadron was a fighter squadron that took part in the Battle of Britain, before taking part in fighter sweeps,  shipping reconnaissance duties and the anti flying-bomb campaign

Operation Suicide: The Remarkable Story of the Cockleshell Raid, Robert Lyman.

Operation Suicide: The Remarkable Story of the Cockleshell Raid, Robert Lyman.

A splendid account of the famous canoe raid on German blockade runners based at Bordeaux. As well as a detailed narrative of the raid itself, Lyman has included an excellent account of its origins, the development of the necessary equipment, the formation of the unit that carried out the raid and the origins and repercussions of Hitler's notorious Commando Order.
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S.A.S. in Tuscany, 1943-1945, Brian Lett.

S.A.S. in Tuscany, 1943-1945, Brian Lett.

A study of three S.A.S. operations behind enemy lines in Tuscany between the period of the Italian armistice in 1943 and the end of the war in 1945. The first ended in tragedy, the second was a great success, the third achieved comparatively little, so the author is able to compare and contrast three very different missions that took place in the same small area of Italy.
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Holy Wars: 3,000 Years of Battles in the Holy Land, Gary L. Rashba.

Holy Wars: 3,000 Years of Battles in the Holy Land, Gary L. Rashba.

 An interesting selection of incidents from the long and warlike history of the Holy Land, ranging from the Israelite conquest to the modern Arab-Israeli Wars. Includes a good mix of ancient, medieval and modern conflicts. A bit lacking in analysis of the value of early religious sources, but otherwise sound.
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No.609 (West Riding) Squadron

No.609 (West Riding) Squadron began the Second World War as a fighter squadron, taking part in the Battle of Britain, before moving onto intruder operations, eventually joining Second Tactical Air Force.

No.608 (North Riding) Squadron

No.608 (North Riding) Squadron went through two incarnations during the Second World War, the first with Coastal Command and the second as the only Auxiliary Air Force squadron to join Bomber Command.

No.607 (County of Durham) Squadron

No.607 (County of Durham) Squadron was a fighter squadron that took part in the fighting in France in May 1940 and the Battle of Britain before moving to the Far East where it operated over Burma from 1942 until the end of the war.