Includes key events and battles and includes the run up to the conflict aswell as the aftermath
Airpower over the Rhine is a critical new perspective on the air battle between the French Air Force (FAF) and the Luftwaffe in the skies over France during May and June 1940. Why were the French overpowered in the air? What factors led to their defeat? Author James F. Slaughter III examines how each country's leadership created the circumstances that enabled the Luftwaffe's victory over the FAF and Germany's ultimate defeat of France. Conventional wisdom-especially in the English-speaking world-purports that the FAF was a nonentity whose loss was all but guaranteed. But the FAF did, in fact, show up to fight. With virtually every disadvantage and under impossible conditions, FAF pilots nevertheless managed to land significant blows against the Luftwaffe-far more than they are given credit for today. Slaughter traces this misconception to a largely collaborationist cover-up beginning with the Rion Trials in Vichy France that was then perpetuated by Cold War politics and popular mythology. Rather than absence or incompetence, the FAF lost due to a series of complex internal conflicts within French leadership, both political and military, that set them up to fail. This work compares and examines six fundamental areas that affected the development of the FAF and the Luftwaffe: aircraft and equipment, the aircraft industries, intelligence, the experiences of the Spanish Civil War, doctrine and training, and politics and air power. It also offers new details about and insights into Pierre Cot, a controversial French politician largely unknown outside France. Airpower over the Rhine explains Cot's internal and external impact on the development of the French Air Force and details what is known about his apparent efforts to spy for the Soviet Union. Thoroughly researched and compellingly written, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in World War II.
This comprehensive biography details the life of Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden, who commanded the ironclad USS Monitor during the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads and went on to co-found the U.S. Naval Institute.Throughout his 52-year career, Rear Adm. John Lorimer Worden was always the right officer for the job. The epitome of an innovative commander who helped move the U.S. Navy out of the age of sail and into the era of ironclad technology, Worden’s contributions extended beyond the Battle of Hampton Roads and shaped the future of the Navy. He demonstrated exceptional leadership in both combat and peacetime. Worden immediately proved himself a capable choice for key assignments, leading a successful rescue mission and capturing a prize ship during the Mexican-American War. Three tours at the U.S. Naval Observatory established him as a scientific officer. After delivering secret dispatches in 1861 that kept Fort Pickens in Florida for the Union, Worden attempted to return to Washington, D.C., and was arrested by Confederate authorities, thus becoming the first prisoner of war during the Civil War. After six months in captivity, he returned to command the USS Monitor—the “little ship that saved the nation”—at the historic Battle of Hampton Roads. There, he faced the Confederate CSS Virginia in the first-ever clash of ironclads, suffering severe wounds while fighting the battle to a standstill. Upon recovery, he returned to command the USS Montauk, where his unparalleled expertise in ironclad design and combat tactics continued to set him apart. From testing ships in battle to overseeing the innovative production of ironclads at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, he consistently refined his craft. Confronted with multiple ship design failures, he relentlessly drove improvements, pushing the boundaries of naval technology and securing lasting progress in the development of modern warships. After the war, Worden became superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he trained the next generation of naval officers and co-founded the U.S. Naval Institute. His five-year tenure at the academy was not without controversy that tested his leadership. He deftly handled a nationally embarrassing hazing scandal, resulting in congressional authority for the superintendent to directly discipline and expel errant midshipmen. Worden also managed sensitive issues surrounding the appointment of the first African American midshipman and the first Japanese midshipman while he helmed the academy. Worden capped his career by ably serving as commander-in-chief of the European Squadron during a time of upheaval on that continent. Displaying courage, commitment, and diplomacy, Worden skillfully led U.S. European naval forces from 1875 to 1877. From Ironclads to Admiral’s thorough examination of Worden’s life and leadership emphasizes his strategic insights, innovative spirit, and dedication to service. Readers will uncover the profound impact of an officer of great achievement who inspired others to say, “Let Worden do it!”
In Destroyers at War Adm. James L. Holloway III, the twentieth Chief of Naval Operations, recalls his early life and service on destroyers during the final campaigns of the Pacific War in World War II. As the assistant gunnery officer in USS Ringgold (DD 500) and the gun boss on USS Bennion (DD 665), he took part in shore bombardment and anti-air radar picket missions during the assaults on Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, and Leyte. He provides detailed explanations of how gunnery systems worked on small combatants as well as gripping accounts of combat events, including the climactic battle of Surigao Strait—the last battleship-vs-battleship clash in history—where a Bennion torpedo scored a fatal blow against the Japanese battleship Yamashiro. This book also explores the relationship between Holloway and his father, James L. Holloway Jr.—the only father-son combination to serve on active duty as four-star admirals—and highlights the senior Holloway’s career as his son worked his way through the ranks. Holloway will be one of the last members of the Greatest Generation to publish a firsthand account of World War II.
The escape of General MacArthur from the Philippines after the initial Japanese onslaught in World War II is well known. This is the story of the gallant PT-boat men who rescued him, only to be abandoned in enemy-occupied territory.
How have navies contemplated possible enemies? How did they learn—or fail to learn—once operations began? How does this analysis inform today’s planning for future conflict? These questions guide the noted historians and naval strategists who contributed to Planning for War at Sea. A central theme is the regular failure of navies’ best-laid plans.Covering four centuries of naval warfare, the early chapters illustrate the challenges all navies faced when considering possible enemies. Even during the Age of Sail, ships were among the most expensive and long-term national endeavors. Navies thus planned well in advance for future wars, usually without knowing their adversaries or how they would fight them at sea. This strategy holds true today. Building a capable navy requires sustained investment in naval infrastructure long before the fighting starts.In the final chapters naval strategists expand on this historical analysis to address how effectively or ineffectively today’s three leading navies—Russia, China, and the United States—have configured themselves during the post–Cold War era in preparing for future great power conflict. This collection is an important work for strategists, scholars, and policymakers.
The second volume of a series on a glossary of codebreaking, WW2 Codebreaking Events and Organisations, brings to the reader an easily understandable account and listing, of those organisations involved in collecting and analysing military intelligence principally during the second world war. A listing of key events or occurrences is provided which moulded the direction of codebreaking and gathering of enemy intelligence. Whilst Bletchley Park was the HQ of codebreaking activities in wartime, numerous organisations became involved in a support role, and this became critical when more advanced enemy encoding machines were introduced by the Nazis. The evolution of certain organisations over time, can be tracked to a degree, by reading the glossary in depth. The entries are cross-referenced to enable the reader to research as much or as little as they want, to dip-in to the glossary, to use it as a basis for further study, or just to learn a little more about the people and organisations that helped us win the war with our allied friends.
The Military History of Late Rome 425-457 analyses in great detail how the Romans coped with the challenge posed by masses of Huns in a situation in which the Germanic tribes had gained a permanent foothold in the territories of West Rome. This analysis reassesses the strategy and tactics of the period . The book shows how cooperation between the West Roman Master of Soldiers, Aetius, and East Roman Emperor Marcian saved Western civilization from the barbarian nightmare posed by the Huns of Attila. A fresh appraisal of the great clash at the Catalaunian Fields in 451 offers new insights into the mechanics of the fighting and shows that it was a true battle of nations which decided nothing less than the fate of human civilization. Had Aetius and his allies lost the battle and had Marcian not cooperated with Aetius in 451 and 452, we would not have seen the rise of the West and the rise of the scientific thinking.
Stalag Luft lll was where Germany sent all its habitual Allied escapers, and the first British and Commonwealth POWs arrived there on 11 April 1942. The following year, on 29 October, what became known as The Wooden Horse Escape took place - the name deriving from the use of a gymnastic vaulting horse to cover the fact that a tunnel was being dug underneath. The escape was devised by Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams and Lieutenant Richard Michael Codner. Joined by Pilot Officer Oliver Philpot, all three men escaped and made it safely back to England. The escape inspired others and, five months later, on the evening of 24/25 March 1944, what became known as the Great Escape took place. The intention was to break out more than 200 British and Allied POWs, but a combination of tunnel collapses, a nearby Allied air raid and the discovery of the tunnel exit meant only 76 escapees made it out. Only 3 made it back to the UK, with 73 being recaptured and 50 of those being murdered by the Gestapo on Hitler's orders. Both escapes were made famous first by books and then even more famous by their respective films, and although not entirely accurate, each ensured that the stories told would reach a worldwide audience.
Czechoslovakia, a vital European economy, was dismantled by Nazi Germany. The Sudetenland was annexed, and the rest of the nation became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Hitler replaced Reichsprotektor Konstantin von Neurath with Reinhard Heydrich in September 1941 due to unmet production quotas. Known as the "Butcher of Prague," Heydrich imposed martial law, leading to widespread arrests and executions. In response, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, led by Edvard Bene, devised Operation Anthropoid to assassinate Heydrich. Josef Gabcík and Jan Kubi, members of the exiled Czech Army trained by the British Special Operations Executive, parachuted into Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1941. Despite Heydrich's suppression of the Czech resistance, local supporters assisted them. On 27 May 1942, Gabcík and Kubi attacked Heydrich as his car slowed at a bend. Gabcík's Sten gun jammed, but Kubi's grenade wounded Heydrich. Though they escaped, Heydrich died eight days later.
"A memoir of one woman's extraordinary personal journey in the US military and her work to honor her predecessors with the Congressional Gold Medal. Chronicling Cummings's unlikely but successful path to leadership roles in the US Army and afterward, this book also tells the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (known as the Six Triple Eight)-a trailblazing African American World War II Women's Army Corps unit-and of the grassroots campaign Cummings led to honor them"--
When he returned to the Netherlands in 2009, decades after World War II, Jefferson Wiggins realized that no one he met knew about the segregated US Army during the war, nor did they know about the contribution of Black American soldiers to the liberation of the Netherlands. They were not mentioned anywhere in Dutch history books or in archives. Together with oral historian Mieke Kirkels, Wiggins sat down to record his memories. Wiggins passed away in 2013, and his widow, Janice Wiggins-Paterson, continued the project in his memory. With newly discovered archival material, and richly illustrated, this book gives a lively account of an undocumented story of WWII, Black American, and Dutch military history.
Timeless Turmoil offers a comprehensive historical and comparative analysis of recent conflicts in Kosovo, Abkhazia, and the Tskhinvali region, examining their geopolitical dynamics from ancient times to the present. With a focus on post-Soviet transitions, noted Georgian international relations scholar Kakhaber Kalichava explores Russia's role in shaping these conflicts, particularly how Russia has strategically exploited them to maintain influence in post-Soviet space. The book also assesses Western recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 and how it has been leveraged by Russia to support its narrative of the recent Georgian conflicts. As the first book to locate comparisons of Kosovo and Georgia's breakaway regions, Timeless Turmoil reveals both shared and distinct characteristics of those conflicts, fresh insights into the geopolitical landscape of the Balkans and the Caucasus, and a balanced and scholarly perspective on some of the most significant conflicts of our era.
"This work describes U.S. Marine Corps helicopter operations, including their actions and evolution, throughout the Vietnam War. The book is divided into parts spanning the three stages of the Corps' combat deployment: 'Buildup (1962-1966),' 'Heavy Combat (1967-1969),' and 'The Bitter End (1975).' Each part includes chapters devoted to 'telling the story' of Marine helicopters from the individual to the strategic level." --Provided by publishe
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