Myitkyina was a vital objective in the Allied re-conquest of Burma in 1943-44 Following the disastrous retreat from Burma in April 1942, China had become isolated from re-supply except for the dangero
Jagdverband 44 was formed in February 1945 on Hitler's orders, to fly the Me 262 "Stormbird", the world's first operational jet fighter, and demonstrate its superiority. The unit was led by the legend
The Gulf War bore witness to a number of deadly encounters between these two great adversaries. Heavily armored, highly mobile and capable of killing at over 2500m the M1 Abrams is, to this day, a ver
With Cold War fears mounting, the M47 and M48 were rushed into production – teething troubles were inevitable. In the decade that followed, however, these tanks proved to be the backbone of US armoure
Published to coincide with the 80th birthday of the Spitfire, this is the combat history of one of the most iconic planes ever built as it pushed on from the successes of the Battle of Britain and too
The F-15A/C is irrefutably the most successful jet fighter of the last 30 years. Serving in the Air Forces of Israel, the United States and Saudi Arabia, it has racked up a kill ratio exceeding 105:0.
The T-64 tank was the most revolutionary design of the whole Cold War, designed to provide the firepower and armor protection of a heavy tank in a medium-weight design. It pioneered a host of sophisti
Featuring specially commissioned artwork, this study breaks new ground in covering all the uniformed Soviet security organizations from the Russian Revolution through to World War II. While the average person reacts to the term 'SS' with justified horror, most do not realize that, like Nazi Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union had its own instrument of terror, the NKVD. The precursor to the NKVD, the Cheka, was central to the Bolsheviks' elimination of political dissent during the Russian Civil War (1918-21). After 1922 the Soviet state-security organs became the GPU and then the OGPU (1923-34) before coalescing into the NKVD. After it played a central role in the Great Terror (1936-38), which saw the widespread repression of many different groups and the imprisonment and execution of prominent figures, the NKVD had its heyday during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45). During the conflict the organization deployed full military divisions, frontier troop units and internal security forces and
From the end of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th, most Western powers maintained a naval presence in China. These gunboats protected traders and missionaries, safeguarded national i
In the darkest days of World War II, the British planned a daring airborne operation to capture the secret of the new German radar. Lead by Major John Frost, a company of paratroopers dropped into Bru
This book draws on original regimental records to give an account of the organization and personalities of the most renowned of the foreign units that served in the Emperor's armies. Unlike most of h
On 21 October 1805, the British and combined French and Spanish fleets clashed off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast in a duel of skill, tenacity and bravery. Relive the action at Trafalgar - read t
US Special Forces in Vietnam created and trained the Civilian Irregular Defense Group, a large paramilitary organization designed to operate out of fortified camps in remote areas and protect the loca
Osprey's survey of pirates of the Far East, from 811 to 1639. For many centuries, international relations between Medieval Japan, Korea and China were carried out by means of the 'inseparable trinity'
In 1947, when the UN partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, the true war for Israel's existence began. Throughout the War of Independence (1948), the PAL'MACH (Hebrew abbreviation for 'Str
Features distinguished German commanders of World War II from the Waffen-SS, the Luftwaffe and the Navy. This book details wartime experiences of those commanders such as, Josef Dietrich, Theodor Eick
The Russian T-72 Ural tank is the most widely-deployed main battle tank of the current generation. Used by the armies of the former Warsaw pact and Soviet Union, it has also been exported in large num
At the end of the Royalist regime, the artillery arm of the French Army was, as Napoleon was later to declare, "the finest and best composed corps in Europe." Designed by the great master of artillery
In 1806, at the beginning of the Peninsular War, the Portuguese army was not at the peak of military efficiency. Nevertheless, under British tutelage it played an important part in the fight against N
The uniform of the British Army underwent many changes between 1965 and 1980. This book catalogues these changes and outlines in detail the many regimental distinctions which exist throughout this old
