Casemate Publishers

Casemate Publishers is a global publisher in the fields of military history, aviation and intelligence studies, covering all aspects of military history, and all periods of conflict – from ancient civilisations to modern warfare.
Their diverse list includes military autobiographies and memoirs, histories of specific events, and a growing list of leadership titles. Casemate Publishers is also the home of the renowned Casemate Illustrated series – loved by general readers, modellers and specialists alike, these books bring visual detail to key elements of military history, from campaigns, units and battles, to aircraft, ships and weapons. Their global team is passionate about the subject and the authors and experts they work with, and in bringing readers the best of military history.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 160

ISBN: 9781612005546

Pub Date: 28 Nov 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 16 pages of b/w photos

Description:

During World War II, 1,517 members of US aircrews were forced to seek asylum in Switzerland. Most neutral countries found reason to release US airmen from internment, but Switzerland took its obligations under the Hague Convention more seriously than most. The airmen were often incarcerated in local jails, and later transferred to prison camps.

RRP: £19.99

Format: Hardback

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9781612004471

Pub Date: 01 Nov 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 16 pages of photos

Description:

Reverend David Railton MC served as a chaplain on the Western Front during World War I. Attached to three divisions between 1916 and 1918, Railton supported the soldiers in their worst moments, he buried the fallen, comforted the wounded, wrote to the families of the missing and killed, and helped the survivors to remember and mark the loss of their comrades so that they were able to carry on. He was with his men at many battles, including High Wood, the Aisne and Passchendaele; he received the Military Cross for rescuing an officer and two men under heavy fire on the Somme.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9781612005584

Pub Date: 31 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: photos and maps

Description:

George VI's biographer, Sir John Wheeler Bennett wrote “The actual turning of the tide in the 2nd World War may be accurately determined as the first week of July 1942.” This book argues that it is possible to be even more exact: the tide turned at about 21.00 hrs on 2 July 1942, when Rommel’s tanks withdrew for the first time since the fall of Tobruk on 20 June, or arguably since 14 January 1942 at El Agheila.

Format: Hardback

Pages: 208

ISBN: 9781612005065

Pub Date: 20 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 34

Description:

In the early summer of 1941 German mountain soldiers under the command of General Eduard Dietl set out in northern Norway up through Finland to the Russian border. Operation Silberfuchs was underway. The northernmost section of the Eastern Front would ensure Hitler supplies of nickel from Finnish mines, and bring the strategically important port city of Murmansk under German control.

RRP: £25.00

Format: Paperback

Pages: 64

ISBN: 9781612005409

Pub Date: 15 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Past & Present

Illustrations: 130

Description:

While the 6th Airborne Division had landed in France on D-Day and covered itself in glory, its counterpart, the 1st Airborne Division, had last seen action during an amphibious assault at Taranto on September 9, 1943, as part of the invasion of Italy. Returned to the UK in December 1943, it was held in reserve during the battle of Normandy and spent three months waiting for action, as plan after plan was proposed and then discarded, such was the speed of the Allied pursuit of the Germans.In September 1944, however, 1st Airborne played a leading role in Operation Market—the air component of Operation Market Garden, an audacious attempt by the Allies to bypass the Siegfried Line and advance into the Ruhr.

Format:

Hardback Paperback

Pages: 224

ISBN: 9781612005294

Pub Date: 10 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 35

Pages: 240

ISBN: 9781636245263

Pub Date: 15 Aug 2025

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 35 illustrations

Description:

The odds were against the Allies on June 6, 1944. The task ahead of the paratroopers who jumped over Normandy and the soldiers who waded ashore onto the beaches, all under fire, was colossal. In such circumstances good leadership can be the defining factor in victory or defeat.

RRP: £25.00

RRP: £22.50

Format: Paperback

Pages: 64

ISBN: 9781612005362

Pub Date: 06 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Past & Present

Illustrations: 130

Description:

On August 15, 1942, the 82nd Airborne became the US Army’s first airborne division. Commanded by Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, they trained exhaustively for their new role, which involved parachuting from C-47s and insertion by Waco CG-4A gliders.

RRP: £9.99

Format: Paperback

Pages: 64

ISBN: 9781612005423

Pub Date: 06 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Past & Present

Illustrations: 130

Description:

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler was the spearhead of the assault by Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Armee on the northern flank of the German Ardennes offensive. Divided into Kampfgruppen, the lead was Kampfgruppe Peiper whose armored force included SS Heavy Tank Battalion 501 equipped with King Tigers.The attack was launched on a snowy, freezing December 16, but from the outset, the division lost time against schedule.

RRP: £9.99

Format: Hardback

Pages: 576

ISBN: 9781910860229

Pub Date: 01 Oct 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 16 pages of photos 10 maps

Description:

On a typical day during the Second World War, Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, issued numerous memos to the ministers and service commanders on many different subjects, on both the grand strategy and the detail of the war effort. It was not just his work rate and his self-confidence which allowed him to do this. He had a unique and intimate inside knowledge of all three services which allowed him to assess their real needs – a crucial task when money, material resources, and especially manpower, were reaching their limits.

RRP: £25.00

Format: Hardback

Pages: 144

ISBN: 9781612005508

Pub Date: 30 Sep 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Description:

September 5, 1944'The Americans are approaching; we follow their progress impatiently on the radio, by intercepting messages reserved for the commandos. They cannot be beaten now. But it is up to us to do the impossible to speed up the progression of the bulk of their troops, to facilitate the advance of their spearhead, and, above all, to prevent the Germans from withdrawing to the Rhine in good order, with all their equipment. How many human lives will we manage to save? How many sons of Utah, or of Georgia, will be able to push open the door of their homes thanks to our action, in the near future?Yes, I must fight for "Louis" and all these unknown brothers. For each tank that does not make it, for every ammunition truck pitched into a ditch, how many soldiers will be saved?' 'Hubert Verneret was able to highlight the feelings of young people of his time; they match our memories exactly, whether we lived in France or in Great Britain, whether we were then wearing his Majesty’s uniform, or the armbands of the maquisards.'Colonel Maurice Buckmaster Hubert Verneret was a fourteen-year-old schoolboy in South Morvan, Burgundy, when the Germans invaded Poland, and fifteen when France fell. A boy scout, he helped refugees, aided the gendarmerie, moved wounded soldiers, and dug out bodies after air raids. Throughout, he wrote an eloquent diary that noted not only his actions but his thoughts and feelings as the French troops retreated and the Germans arrived. In 1944, aged nineteen, he decided to join the local maquis resistance fighters, operating from a hidden base in the forest. Though constantly in danger as he undertook his duties, his youthful optimism turned to frustration as he felt he was fated never to fight the Germans, never to take a prisoner. As the Allies approached, the maquisards worked to upset and weaken the retreating Germans to aid the Allied advance.. Hubert details the joy with which the maquisards were welcomed in local villages when the fighting ended. Only as he listened to the speech given as the maquisards disband did he understand that his part in the war, while perhaps not heroic as that played by others, was still important in gaining the victory. Years later, Hubert interviewed local maquisards to understand more about maquis history; their words and excerpts from the diary of a local civilian during the German retreat provide context to Hubert’s youthful testimony. This first English edition of Hubert’s diary retains the original prefaces by Colonel Buckmaster, chief of the French section of the SOE, and Colonel d’Escrienne, aide de camp to General de Gaulle.

RRP: £16.99

Format: Paperback

Pages: 160

ISBN: 9781612005157

Pub Date: 30 Sep 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Casemate Short History

Illustrations: 30 b/w illustrations

Description:

Thermopylae, Marathon: though fought 2,500 years ago in Ancient Greece, the names of these battles are more familiar to many than battles fought in the last half-century, but our concept of the men who fought in these battles may be more a product of Hollywood than Greece. Shaped by the landscape in which they fought, the warriors of Ancient Greece were mainly heavy infantry. While Bronze Age Greeks fought as individuals, for personal glory, the soldiers of the Classical city states fought as hoplites, armed with long spears and large shields, in an organised formation called the phalanx.

RRP: £7.99

Format: Paperback

Pages: 160

ISBN: 9781612005133

Pub Date: 21 Sep 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Casemate Short History

Illustrations: 30 b/w illustrations

Description:

The gladiator is one of the most enduring figures of Ancient Rome. Heroic, though of lowly status, they fought vicious duals in large arenas filled with baying crowds. The survivor could be either executed (the famous ‘thumbs down’ signal) or spared at the whim of the crowd or the Emperor.

RRP: £7.99

Format: Paperback

Pages: 160

ISBN: 9781612005171

Pub Date: 21 Sep 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Casemate Short History

Illustrations: 30 b/w illustrations

Description:

Originally warriors mounted on horseback, knights became associated with the concept of chivalry as it was popularised in medieval European literature. Knights were expected to fight bravely and honourably and be loyal to their lord until death if necessary. Later chivalry came to encompass activities such as tournaments and hunting, and virtues including justice, charity and faith.

RRP: £7.99

Format: Paperback

Pages: 160

ISBN: 9781612005195

Pub Date: 21 Sep 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Series: Casemate Short History

Illustrations: 30 b/w illustrations

Description:

From the 9th to the 11th century, Viking ships landed on almost every shore in the Western world. Viking ravages united the Spanish kingdoms and stopped Charlemagne and the Franks' advance in Europe. Wherever Viking ships roamed, enormous suffering followed in their wake, but the encounter between cultures changed both European and Nordic societies.

RRP: £7.99

Format: Hardback

Pages: 288

ISBN: 9781612003696

Pub Date: 17 Aug 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: black & white and colour illustrations

Description:

Instruments of Battle examines in detail the development and role of the British Army’s fighting drummers and buglers, from the time of the foundation of the army up to the present day. While their principal weapon of war was the drum and bugle (and the fife), these men and boys were not musicians as such but fighting soldiers who took their place in the front line. The origins of the drum and bugle in the Classical Period and the later influence of Islamic armies are examined, leading to the arrival of the drum and fife in early Tudor England.

The Most Dangerous Moment of the War Cover

Format: Paperback

Pages: 208

ISBN: 9781612005331

Pub Date: 17 Aug 2017

Imprint: Casemate Publishers

Illustrations: 16 pages photos

Description:

‘The kind of story you'd find in illustrated form in one of the 1960s boys' comics such as Warlord, or Commando. Absolutely enthralling.’Books Monthly ‘It is an interesting story . . . and I recommend it.’The Mariner's Mirror In early April 1942, a little-known chapter of World War II took place, said by Sir Winston Churchill to be ‘the most dangerous moment of the war' when the Japanese made their only major offensive westwards into the Indian Ocean. As historian Sir Arthur Bryant said, ‘A Japanese naval victory in April 1942 would have given Japan total control of the Indian Ocean, isolated the Middle East and brought down the Churchill government'. War in the Far East had erupted with the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and it appeared that the British naval bases at Ceylon would be next. The Japanese had a vast new coastline to defend, stretching from New Guinea to Northern Burma, and having destroyed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, could not accept the threat of the British Eastern Fleet based at Ceylon. Occupation of Ceylon was vital as it was a springboard into India. Without control of Ceylon, essential convoys from India to Europe and the Western Desert would be in constant danger and Allied naval strength in the Far East was at a dangerously low level. With the Japanese forces seeming unstoppable, the Indian Ocean lay open and undefended. So far the Japanese had suffered no significant losses and the offensive continued unabated as they steamed westward, unopposed. It was generally felt Ceylon would be next to fall. It was a situation that could not be allowed to happen but the question on everyone's lips was how soon would Japan take advantage of this strategic situation. After the war Churchill acknowledged that the potential disaster at Ceylon had been averted by the brave actions of one pilot, Squadron Leader L. J. Birchall, who while flying his Catalina flying boat on a regular patrol, spotted the Japanese warships massing some 350 miles from Ceylon. He was spotted by the Japanese whose aircraft shot him down but before so doing, Birchall sent a brief radio message back to his base. This gave the island's defence forces sufficient time to prepare for the attack and to disperse the British fleet out to sea. Churchill acknowledged this pilot had made one of the most important single contributions to our victory. John Clancy tells the story of the events of this dramatic but little known episode in which a major catastrophe was only narrowly averted, but in which over a thousand mainly British lives were lost, including the sinking of HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire.

RRP: £12.99