The past is brought to life in this historical epic about a South African family whose lives collided with the biggest event in history: the First World War. The central theme is the largely forgotten East Africa campaign, but by definition a world war has a wide reach. Five members of one family with deep roots in all four corners of the country, served in three different theatres of war. Their lives on active service are all interwoven and inseparable from the home front. Global events are juxtaposed with everyday life on a farm in the eastern Orange Free State. Appropriately, the author constructs linkages that span generations, uncovering individual experiences of an earlier conflict which had engulfed South Africa barely a decade before the eruption of the 1914–18 war. As the sons of early pioneers, this generation witnessed history in the making before writing their own. Riding into action on horseback or in a flying machine, their paths led from the South West African desert, through disease-infested jungles in East Africa to some of the great battles on the Western Front. Only one of the five came home unscathed although he crash-landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and only made it back through his audacity and brute strength. Another, an intellectual priest, was left for dead at Delville Wood, and his brother was wounded on Messines Ridge. The remaining two suffered from debilitating tropical illnesses. Hazard and hardship lingered on in the form of Spanish influenza, mining strikes and the Great Depression. The war cast a long shadow. Between them, these consciously literate men left substantial documentary legacies. Using extracts of their letters from the front, the story is to a large extent told in the words of those who were there. Context is provided by referencing existing literature, unpublished memoirs and archival material. It could be called a military history or a social history, but it is a truly South African story which contains much new material for historians, while for the general reader it offers an accessible insight into an unparalleled period of history.

Tuesday, 6th June 1944: 130,000 Allied soldiers arrived on the beaches of Normandy. Among them, 177 Frenchmen.If this number seems modest, its symbolic weight is immense. These men who had refused the Nazi occupation rediscovered the land of their birth, arms in hand, four years after having left. They formed part of the commandos, those elite corps created by Churchill after the disastrous evacuation of Dunkirk. At their head, Philippe Kieffer, a banker for 40 years, whose enthusiasm and obstinacy had combined to convince the British to accept the French at the heart of their shock troops.But the importance of "Commando Kieffer" to the success of Operation Overlord is not simply limited to the symbolic. On D-Day, the French Green Berets would achieve, at the price of heavy losses, all of their objectives, notably the taking of the casino at Ouistreham, transformed by the Germans into a powerfully fortified bunker.Illustrated with many photos, maps, plans, and infographics which plunge the reader into the heart of the action, this book permits one to follow the extroardinary course of action more closely than ever, from their exhaustive training in Great Britain up until the final raids at the beginning of 1945.

A look at the Italian Regia Aeronautica in the Spanish Civil War. In July 1936, rebellious Spanish generals asked for help from Benito Mussolini. He sent twelve SM. 81 bombers which were the first of the 764 Italian aircraft sent to help the nationalists.The book follows the day to day struggles in the air and the rapid development of the Italian Air Force in Spain. In this first volume we follow the struggle up to July 1937, including battles such as the attacks on Madrid, Málaga and Guadalajara.Illustrated with photos and colour profiles

April 1943. The war in Europe is at its turn.Just engaged, the fighter group "Alsace" losing his first two pilots, shot down same time, in the same battle, by the same man. Claude Raoul-Duval miraculously survive and spend six months in the Resistance, where he lived an incredible adventure one network to another, before reappearing London and take control Spitfire. It is now one of the last eighteen Companions of the Liberation. Philippe Beraud disappear. His family find him after a long wait of five years, buried anonymously in Le Havre. Through her letters she then discover the extraordinary that was his life, first in the Royal Air Force, and within a squadron Hunting Free France. Missing is the poignant story of two destinies. Tribute and testimony.- TEXT IN FRENCH -

This book follows on from the Super Drawings in 3D Battlecruiser, Fast Battleship HarunaThe book contains 3D drawingsof the battleship Haruna as she appeared in 1944. They represent the individual items of equipment and parts of the battleship construction including illustrations of the command tower divided into levels to show the complex structure of the battleship. With 22 A4 sheets of technical drawingsabout 10 color imagesThe scales of the drawings are: 1: 100, 1: 200, 1: 250, 1: 400

The soldiers of World War I are often referred to as the “Lost Generation”; this book is an intimate look at some U.S. soldiers’ experiences after being thrust into the centre of the Great War and enduring some of its most gruelling battles. Len Fairfield (the author’s grandfather) was an Artillery Scout, or Forward Observer, for the U.

In February 1945, the Allies launched Operation Thunderclap, a series of maximum efforts against cities in eastern Germany, partly to pave the way for the Red Army that would soon be overrunning that territory. These deep-penetration raids would tax the bomber crews immensely, as well as bring new devastation to cities yet untouched by U.S. airpower.Two B-17 crew members, a co-pilot and gunner, trained together in Gulfport, MS, and in fall 1944 were assigned to the longest-serving and most decorated U.

This book is dedicated to the command and observation tanks of the German Army in World War Two. It deals with their history, operational use, organisation, special markings, technical description, serial numbers (when available), and data on the radio equipment. The book is completed by some 105 colour profiles, produced by Jean Restayn, and by about 65 black and white historic photographs. A must for any enthusiast of the German military and of the Second World War, and a unique reference for all the serious modellers.

The second volume in the War Stories: World War II Firsthand series tackles the largest amphibious invasion ever attempted until that time -- the historic landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944. More than eighty veterans on both sides of the Atlantic Wall give their perspectives on the event, and the bloody two-month struggle which resulted in the Anglo-American allies wrestling France from the German defenders. Preparations for Operation Overlord, including air and sea operations to support the gargantuan landing are covered in vibrant, authentic detail. Rich with color images, famous photographs and original 3-D maps, the 9" x 12" volume also presents the timeline of events, places and personalities, giving a complete picture of the campaign across France. The volume won a Silver Medal in the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) in the World History category and Best Book 2012 in the History: Military/Political category from USA Book News.

This powerful initial volume in the War Stories: World War II Firsthand series includes events that took place before and after the devastating Pearl Harbor attack that brought the United States and Japan face to face in war. Included are eyewitness accounts of survivors of the December 7, 1941 attack on America's major battleships, defenders of Bataan and Corregidor; participants in the pivotal Battle of Midway, the Marines that first waded ashore at Guadalcanal and many, many others. Full color throughout, rich with images and original 3-D maps, the 9" x 12" volume also features solid historical analysis of the war's timeline and quotes from military and political leaders, giving a complete picture of this part of the war. The volume won Best Book 2011 in the History: Military/Political category from USA Book News.

The third volume in the War Stories: World War II Firsthand series is anchored on the words and experiences of 100 Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen and other frontline personnel who became embroiled in the devastating island campaign of the Pacific War. Never before or since was so much blood shed for so little real estate. The volume contains blow by blow descriptions of some of the most destructive naval and air battles of the war, as well as the blood and sand tales of Marines and GIs and their Japanese counterparts contesting inch by inch places with strange names such as Bougainville, Tarawa and Saipan. The real-life stories of those who were there are illustrated with revealing photographs; some never before seen in any WWII volume. The 9" x 12" volume also offers original maps, enlightning narrative sidebars and a complete timeline of the Pacific campaign -- 1942-1944.

The record of Carrier Air Group 15 in World War II is astonishing by any measure: it scored 312 enemy aircraft destroyed, 33 probably destroyed, and 65 damaged in aerial combat, plus 348 destroyed, 161 probably destroyed, and 129 damaged in ground attacks. Twenty-six Fighting 15 pilots became aces, including their leader, Commander David McCampbell, who became the U.S. Navy’s “Ace of Aces.” Twenty-one squadron pilots were killed in action and one in an operational accident aboard the carrier Essex. The fighter squadron’s partners, Bombing Squadron 15 and Torpedo Squadron 15, scored 174,300 tons of enemy shipping, including 37 cargo vessels sunk, 10 probably sunk, and 39 damaged. As well, Musashi, the world’s largest battleship, was sunk, along with a light aircraft carrier, a destroyer, destroyer escort, two minesweepers and other craft—plus the Zuikaku, the last surviving carrier that participated in the Pearl Harbor attack. Incredibly, every pilot of Torpedo 15 was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest award for bravery after the Medal of Honor. All of this took place between May and November, 1944. No other American combat unit in any service came close to a similar score in such a short time period. Air Group 15 participated in the two greatest naval battles in history, the Philippine Sea—also known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot—and Leyte Gulf, which saw the end of Japanese naval power. On June 19, 1944, Fighting 15 shot down 68.5 attacking Japanese aircraft, a one-day record unmatched by any other U.

When the Japanese war machine swept through South-East Asia in early 1942, it was inevitable that conflict would reach Australian territory on the island of New Guinea. The ultimate Japanese target was Port Moresby. Conquering the capital would sever communication between Australia and her American ally and allow Japanese air power to threaten Australia’s northern cities. When a seaborne invasion was thwarted at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Nankai Shitai landed in Papua on 21 July and launched an overland attack. Having captured the village of Kokoda with its vital airstrip, the Japanese headed for Port Moresby, traversing the treacherous Kokoda Trail that winds across the mighty Owen Stanley Range.The Australian Army was ill prepared to confront the Japanese. Poorly equipped, undertrained, and unaccustomed to jungle warfare, the untested militia battalions were the first to face the battle-hardened invading forces. Later, when veteran AIF brigades were rushed forward to bolster the militia, they also fell in the path of the Japanese onslaught.But the over-extension of supply lines and disaster on Guadalcanal eventually cruelled Japanese aspirations and the Kokoda campaign became a bloody and protracted struggle as the Australian troops fought to drive the Japanese off the Owen Stanleys and out of Papua.While the front-line troops were engaged in a bitter fight for survival, a power struggle erupted at the top of the Allied command hierarchy resulting in a series of sackings, the competing ambitions of the Allied commanders clouding their judgement at a critical time.It was under these conditions, against a determined enemy and on one of the harshest battlefields on earth, that the Australian forces began to learn the crucial lessons that would be needed to break the back of the Japanese Army in New Guinea.

During the night of 5-6 June 1944, the Pathfinders were the first allied soldiers to set foot on Norman soil, the paratroops of the 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions fighting all night until the 4th Infantry Division, landing on Utah Beach, linked up with them. German troops and defences, paratroopers’ eyewitness accounts, unpublished material are all supplied in this superbly illustrated album.

Cela fait 70 ans que le bruit des moteurs et le fracas des bombes ne résonnent plusdans le ciel de France. Après avoir effectué de nombreuses recherches et rencontréde nombreux témoins ou vétérans dan le cadre de la co-écriture du 50 aérodromespour une victoire, Philippe Trombetta s’est lancé dans l’étude des groupesde chasse américains ayant combattu à partir du ciel normand. Après un premiertome ayant pour sujet le 404th Fighter Group, voici le second, consacré au 362ndFighter Group, basé sur l’Advanced Landing Group de Headcon dans le Kent, puissur A-12 Lignerolle et enfin sur A-27 Rennes. Cette unité est la plus titrée sur lethéâtre d’opérations européen, avec pas moins de six pilotes dans le Top 10 de la9th Air Force. Aux nombreuses photos inédites– portraits de pilotes, vues de la vie quotidiennedu Group au combat – s’ajoutent des profilsd’avions et de véhicules terrestres. (Réf. 8381)Relié, 80 pages, en couleurs.

Before the war, the French Air Ministry chose Carpiquet to create, far from the future front, an aerodrome focused on aerial bombardment, for training and observation. In June 1940, the Germans installed an important base there, engaged in the Battle of Britain (book includes never before seen photos) and in their confrontation with the invasion of Dieppe. The aerodrome suffered heavy bombardments. In June and July 1944, it became the keystone of the Battle for Caen. The Hitlerjugend put up strong resistance there against the Canadians. After the war, the aerodrome trained hundreds of pilots involved in the conflict with Algeria and became an army base before returning entirely to civil service in 2010. An exceptional documentation about a base which found itself at the heart of history. 160 pages in colour. TEXT IN FRENCH