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The Conservative politician Airey Neave was assassinated by a car-bomb as he left the House of Commons in March 1979. Drawing on interviews with his colleagues, family and friends, this biography recalls the remarkable career of a man who escaped from Colditz, headed a secret operation to rescue Allied PoWs, served indictments on leading Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and, in later life, masterminded Thatcher’s bid for the Tory leadership.

Slightly off-mint and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

In 1618 a crisis in Bohemia ignited a war that drew in Austria, Spain, France, Sweden and the Netherlands, raged for three decades, and left much of Germany in ruins. This history examines its underlying causes, its eventual resolution, and the effect of marauding armies on a civilian population that suffered greater proportional losses than in either world war.

This study examines the career of Vladimir Putin since his return to the Russian presidency in 2012, after four years as prime minister to his protégé Dmitry Medvedev, and how he has tightened his grip on power. It analyses the personality cult he has fostered, his revision of Russian history, his clampdown on human rights at home, and assertive stance abroad, including the annexation of Crimea and intervention in Syria.

This survey presents the history of each of the region’s airfields in alphabetical order, from the days of biplanes taking off from grassy fields to today’s high-tech military airports. With more than 350 photographs, many never published before, it covers test flying sites, aircraft factories and flying boat bases, and details the aircraft flown and units stationed at each location.

Drawing on decades of research, memorabilia and official sources, Michael JF Bowyer presents information on often forgotten British airfields, along with their buildings, squadrons, personnel and aircraft. This 2010 edition, which features rare and previously classified photos and documents, includes an overview of operations in Eastern England and a detailed A–Z directory of the bases.

Reviewing literary sources and recent archaeological evidence, this study shows how, in response to the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 BCE and war with Carthage in the following century, clan-based bands of warriors evolved into the highly organized legionary system of the Roman empire.

Since the Second World War, the RAF’s 14 Squadron has been based in Cold War Germany, and flown in the 1991 Gulf War, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. The author, a Tornado pilot with the squadron in the 1980s and 1990s, has drawn on logbooks, diaries, maps and oral testimonies to produce as complete a history as is presently possible.

With few natural boundaries, Russia has been shaped by war, and its army has always occupied a central place in the life of the nation. This book explores its development, organization, recruitment and equipment from the Bolshevik Revolution onwards. Extensively illustrated with historic photographs, it follows its experiences in the Second World War, the Cold War, Afghanistan, and the post-Soviet conflicts in Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine. Slightly off-mint

The first German bombing raids took place on British cities in 1917, and the following spring Britain amalgamated its Army and Navy aircraft into a separate and independent British air force. Richard Overy's succinct account of this turning point in modern warfare describes the political and personal rivalries that shaped the RAF's foundation and its significance in the development of air power in Britain, Germany and the United States.

This is the 27th edition of the independent price guide and collectors’ handbook published annually by Medal News. An invaluable reference for collectors, this deluxe edition includes the current medals, orders and decorations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa as well as details of dealers and specialist booksellers, prices, order of wear and detailed, illustrated entries on hundreds of medals. With an index of medals and cumulative index to Medal News, 1989–2020.

Barred from military duty by their sex, some women concealed their identities to join the front line. This tribute to ten such pioneers tells the stories of women including Kit Cavenaugh, who fought in the War of Spanish Succession; Jennie Hodgers, 'the smallest soldier in the US Civil War'; and Dorothy Lawrence, who braved the trenches of the First World War.

Drawing on the British Library’s magnificent manuscript collection, Pamela Porter uses the miniature paintings that illustrated chronicles and military manuals such as Konrad Kyeser’s Bellifortis (1459) to explore the medieval art of war; chivalry, knights and their training; arms and armour; armies and battle; castles and siegecraft; and, finally, how the introduction of gunpowder signalled the decline of traditional medieval warfare.

Hoplites were the heavy infantry of ancient Greek states. Focusing on their importance in battles including Marathon and Thermopylae, this short history describes hoplites’ equipment, training and disciplined phalanx formation.

Using ancient art and literature as well as the graffiti and gladiator barracks discovered in Pompeii, Bishop explains how Rome’s deadly entertainments developed, how gladiators lived, and what types of combat they performed.

Often unfairly eclipsed by the Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane was vital to Britain’s survival in the Second World War. This book details the plane’s construction, its varied service as a fighter, fighter-bomber and anti-tank aircraft, and its crucial role in France, the Battle of Britain and North Africa. It also recounts the exploits of Hurricane pilots such as Billy Fiske and Group Captain Peter Townsend.

First-person accounts from the Imperial War Museum archive are the basis of this study of life for British prisoners in German and Italian prisoner of war camps. The recollections cover initial capture, conditions and treatment in the camps, work and recreation, liberation and escape attempts, including a chapter on Colditz.

A former insider recounts the greatest intelligence successes and failures of recent history, while examining the why politicians and generals often ignore or misunderstand crucial information. Following a brief history of espionage, he covers subjects including the reconnaissance that triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis, the ‘dodgy dossier’ used to justify the invasion of Iraq, how signals intelligence contributed to the Battle of Midway, and the Wikileaks controversy.

Based largely on Dr Grigg’s study of the 100 or more early medieval dykes across Britain, this book argues that these earthworks were defensive, built to combat raiders, and that small-scale raiding characterized warfare in the period from c.400 CE to c.850 CE, when Viking raids became invasion attempts. Following his detailed investigation of early medieval raiding and the functions of the dykes, Grigg presents an illustrated, descriptive listing of the earthworks, with OS grid references.

Georgios Theotokis uses 20 decisive battles to tell the story of Europe from the defeat of the Western Roman armies near the river Frigidus in 394 CE to the confrontation between Ottoman and Christian forces at Varna (1444), which sealed the fate of the Byzantine Empire. He sets out each engagement’s historical background and describes the composition and equipment of the opposing sides before analysing their strategy and battle-tactics.

Scotland’s warring relationship with England, from the Wars of the Rough Wooing in the 1540s to the Jacobite uprising in 1745, and its later roles in defending against French invasion, the two world wars and Cold War defences, have left a rich legacy of Scottish military mapping. Using all types of maps and plans – for fortifications and reconnaissance, military roads, defensive constructions, battle plans and maps showing military targets – this book examines the history of attacking and defending Scotland.

Blum tells the story of the post-war counter-espionage operation that aimed to frustrate Soviet attempts to steal American and British military and nuclear secrets. Meredith Gardner, a brilliant linguist, and Bob Lamphere, an FBI agent (supported by the mainly female codebreakers of Arlington Hall), were unlikely partners in this mission, which ultimately led to the arrest of the Rosenbergs and the notorious Venona files.

A scholarly, well-travelled man, Sir John Tiptoft held several high offices of state under Henry VI and Edward IV, including Treasurer, Constable of England, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; but it was the scale and brutality of the executions he ordered that came to define him. This reappraisal argues that the denigration of his character reflected English antipathy towards his cosmopolitan mindset, and his refashioning of the royal court according to continental models.

These 28 essays on the evolution and conduct of warfare cover the period from the establishment of Sumer and Egypt as nation states to the age of the Arab conquests. Informed by the author’s own years as an army officer, they provide a wide-ranging survey of topics including ancient military logistics and medical care, Buddha’s experiences in war and the strategy of great generals such as Hannibal and Thutmose III.

Lucius Verus (130–169 CE), who was chosen as co-emperor by Marcus Aurelius, is depicted by ancient writers as dissolute and feckless. This book offers a more positive view of Verus as a commander, focusing on his strategy, military reforms and successful campaign against the Parthians, a perennially troublesome enemy of Rome, after their invasions of Armenia and Syria.

Following a brief account of Wat Tyler’s role in the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, this cultural history traces the long afterlife of the revolutionary leader who was killed when his army of commoners presented their demands to Richard II. Basdeo reveals how Tyler’s name has been repeatedly invoked, in plays, novels and radical literature, by later reformers and rebels including the Chartists and those protesting against Margaret Thatcher’s Poll Tax.

This study presents a radical new assessment of James II’s and Charles II’s involvement in the creation of a permanent Royal Navy. Aimed at both academic and general readers and illustrated with contemporary art and maps, it details projects in which the monarchs personally involved themselves such as the design and construction of royal yachts, formation of an effective corps of officers and sponsorship of groundbreaking naval operations.

Unlike the storied Hitler Youth, the Bund Deutscher Mädel, its female counterpart, is not widely documented. This study draws on first-hand accounts to look at the home lives, schooling and eventual militarization of a generation of young German girls, detailing their roles in the Third Reich from 1933 to the aftermath of the Second World War.

In 455 CE the Vandals sacked Rome under the leadership of their king Gaiseric. Although he is now less familiar than Attila, Gaiseric was a dominant figure for almost half a century, seizing North Africa from the Romans and defeating attempts at reconquest. This book provides a year-by-year account of his forces’ movements and tactics and an assessment of his considerable political and military skills.

While jet engines were developed in wartime, the technology was only perfected afterwards. This collection of examples from the USA, Europe, Soviet Union and China details the period’s key fighters.

The Fabii Maximi, who claimed descent from Hercules, produced prominent military and political figures throughout the long history of the Roman Republic. McCall describes the lives and careers of individual members of the family, examines the facts and legends found in ancient historians’ accounts and demonstrates the extent of the Fabian contribution to the rise of Rome.

After retiring from the Royal Navy, Charles Elliot (1801–75) took up diplomatic assignments in British Guiana, China and Texas. Using previously unpublished documents, this biography highlights his controversial actions in the First Opium War and the ceding of Hong Kong to Britain. It also discusses Elliot’s role in the abolition of slavery and his liberal beliefs on racial equality.

Augustus’ reign (31 BCE–14 CE) tends to be considered a period of peace, but his military activities almost doubled the Roman Empire’s size. Powell analyses Augustus’ campaigns and strategy to demonstrate his brilliance as a manager of war through loyal deputies. The book includes profiles of more than 80 such men and features a survey of coins that were issued to celebrate military successes.

The Sassanian dynasty, which ruled Persia from 224 CE until the Islamic conquests, developed a formidable fighting machine that was the equal of the Roman army. This in-depth study, informed by the recent researches of Iranian historians, provides detail on the armed forces’ equipment, training and organization, as well as topics including Sassanian military architecture and the tactics used along the frontier.

Off-mint.

Challenging the conventional narratives of cotton mills and inspired innovators, Priya Satia argues that the constant state of war and Britain’s thriving gun trade were driving forces in the Industrial Revolution. Discussing the economic impact of war on political and industrial progress, she scrutinizes the claims by Samuel Galton Jnr, the leading gun manufacturer, that his industry was no worse than any other as everyone was participating in war manufacturing, and that guns were instruments of civilization, essential for preserving property.

Beginning with a clever ruse to sow disinformation about emigré Russians opposing the Soviet regime in the 1920s, this study reveals a century of undercover intelligence operations that have sought to exploit political tensions by planting, leaking or forging false stories. The final chapters deal with the emergence of computer hacking, cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns waged through social media.

Investigative reporter Ernest Volkman presents stories of espionage and surveillance from ancient Rome and the medieval world to the Cold War and harvesting of data in the digital age. Illustrated with rare photographs, and including 12 case studies, his survey explores how the wealth of information gathered by spies is assembled into intelligence, and some of the methods and ciphers used to preserve national security.

While they have mostly ceremonial uses today, musicians in the British Army traditionally participated in battles, including acting as heralds and enforcers of discipline. James Tanner, a retired Brigadier, details the role of fighting drummers, buglers, and fifers, looking at their deployment, tactics and practical roles; dispelling some common myths; and describing the lives of some of the individual soldiers.

The first of a two-part history of the Hundred Years War looks at the period covering the two major victories at Crecy and Poitiers and the subsequent Treaty of Bretigny that established the British right to territory in France without tribute. Burne argues that while these victories are routinely credited to the Black Prince, Edward III is yet to receive full recognition of his strategic skill and vision.

Focused on the Aegean and Middle East and illustrated with photographs of replica arms and armour, this study of early warfare and weaponry ranges from the Sumerians’ introduction of massed infantry c.3000 BCE to the demise of the war chariot, c.1200 BCE.

Sun Tzu's The Art of War was written in China almost 2,500 years ago and contains great wisdom not just about war itself, but about the science and skill of manoeuvre and strategy in their broadest terms.

As the Cold War intensified in the late 1950s, an eccentric Greek-American physicist developed a startling idea: to detonate nuclear explosions in space to create a radiation belt that would destroy incoming Soviet missiles. Drawing on newly declassified sources, this book describes the plans for Operation Argus, the New York Times exposé of the project, and the 1963 Test Ban Treaty that prevented high-altitude explosions.

A Victorian military writer’s classic accounts of Renaissance warfare in the British Isles are reproduced here, together with the engravings that illustrated them, detailing skirmishes from the Battle of Flodden in 1513 to the Battle of Newburn Ford in 1640.

Richard Evans has visited each of the ancient battle sites analysed in this volume and brings new perspectives based on an understanding of the terrain and the latest archaeological finds. The study covers the famous battles of the Persian Wars such as Marathon and Thermopylae, Caesar's campaigns in Iberia, and Vitellius’s battles of Bedriacum in 69 CE.

The city of Hue was of major strategic importance to the US Army in Vietnam, but the January 1968 offensive against the city by the North Vietnamese Army led, as the Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden shows, to the war’s costliest campaign.

The Conservative politician Airey Neave was assassinated by a car-bomb as he left the House of Commons in March 1979. Drawing on interviews with his colleagues, family and friends, this biography recalls the remarkable career of a man who escaped from Colditz, headed a secret operation to rescue Allied PoWs, served indictments on leading Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and, in later life, masterminded Thatcher’s bid for the Tory leadership.

From George Monck (1608–1670) to Montgomery (1887–1975), Mark Urban examines the impact on the wider world of ten towering British generals, always bearing in mind each commander’s ultimate responsibility to a political master.

For 60 years, England was dominated by Henry II and his sons Richard the Lionheart and John. Combining biography and political history, this book begins with the dynasty’s turbulent origins in the death of Henry I’s heir William in the White Ship disaster and the ensuing war between Stephen and Matilda. It then follows Henry II’s conflict with Thomas à Beckett, the loss of Normandy, Richard’s crusades, and John’s struggle with the barons that led to Magna Carta.

For 60 years, England was dominated by Henry II and his sons Richard the Lionheart and John. Combining biography and political history, this book begins with the dynasty’s turbulent origins in the death of Henry I’s heir William in the White Ship disaster and the ensuing war between Stephen and Matilda. It then follows Henry II’s conflict with Thomas à Beckett, the loss of Normandy, Richard’s crusades, and John’s struggle with the barons that led to Magna Carta.

The test pilots covered in this first volume include Bill Bedford, who carried out the first tethered hover of the Hawker P.1127 ( precursor to the Harrier and vertical take-off prototype) with his leg in plaster following a car accident.

Thomas Wedgwood, the grandson of the English potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood, joined the 3rd Foot Guards aged 16, and was soon fighting at Waterloo and in the defence of Hougoumont, before continuing to serve until 1837. The author, his descendant, has drawn on his previously unpublished letters and journals for this biography of a Napoleonic era professional soldier.

Rudolf Hess’s flight to Scotland in May 1941 has spawned many theories, both before and after his death in Spandau Prison in 1987. Informed by 30 years’ research and recently declassified material, this book reveals its true reason: Hess had been lured by a faction within MI6 who planned to negotiate an armistice with Germany behind Churchill’s back.

A reorganization of the Gurkha units in the early 1990s resulted in the formation of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. Reviewing the new regiment's first quarter century, this celebration is a highly illustrated account of their deployments in the Balkans, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan with additional sections exploring their training and unique traditions, such as the 'kukri' fighting knife. Slightly off-mint.

Pigeons were still in use during the Second World War to carry messages from planes and battlefields but Operation Columba set them to work in a more ambitious project gathering intelligence across Nazi-occupied Europe. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera tells the recently declassified story of the thousands of birds released over Holland, Belgium and France and assesses the value of the information they brought home. Slightly off-mint. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

For those involved, the Manhattan Project was justified by the belief that Nazi Germany was close to developing its own atom bomb. Drawing on recently declassified documents in Britain, the USA, Russia and Germany, this book reveals that British intelligence knew this was untrue, but did not tell the Americans; and suggests that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed not to defeat Japan but to threaten Russia.

This history and analysis of snipers’ equipment and tactics takes an overview of the role and psychology of marksmen from the medieval period onwards, and details the improvements in observation, accuracy and ranging that transformed sniping over the last century. Individual stories include the Finn who amassed 505 kills in less than 100 days of the 1939–40 Winter War, resulting in the USSR training over 2,000 snipers.

‘Human remains are not only one of the most common forms of archaeological evidence, but also arguably the richest in terms of what they can tell us.’ In this accessible introduction to conflict archaeology, Martin Smith examines bones and their injuries as evidence of violence between people ranging from Stone Age aggression to 19th-century warfare with firearms, and demonstrates how bones are our most reliable witnesses to human conflict.

Artillery using gunpowder was first deployed in China during the 11th century; as it spread westwards the new technology quickly rendered existing defences obsolete and prompted the development of larger, more destructive weapons. From early bombards to the atomic cannons of the Cold War, this chronological survey comprises illustrated case studies of the very largest guns, with descriptions of their use in land and sea battles and data on their length, weight, calibre and range.

Sean Davies presents a balanced account of the 13th-century conquest of Wales, giving Welsh and English perspectives on the war, looking at the forces and ambitions of both Edward and Llywelyn Gruffudd, and at the sufferings of the people of Wales. However, Davies places the conquest in the context of Welsh warfare and society since the demise of the Romans, offering an alternative to the common view of Wales overwhelmed by a more sophisticated military culture.

Offering a fresh examination of Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Civili, the only first-hand account of the civil war by one of the protagonists, Ayelet Peer examines how Caesar viewed his own engagement in the war, his manipulation of events, and the ways in which he presented himself and his interpretation of the conflict.

Bringing together 27 articles, this volume from The International Library of Essays on Military History covers the final two centuries of medieval warfare in sections on military theory and practice; late medieval armies; war and late medieval society; popular rebellions; crusading and the Ottoman threat; changes in military technology; and a final essay by Richard Bean, ‘War and the Birth of the Nation State’ (1973). No jacket.

Drawing on primary sources, from newspaper reports and novels to legal documents and parliamentary debates, this study explores how piracy was perceived and debated in British society during the ‘Golden Age’ of the pirate, roughly 1680 to 1730.

Although the War of the League of Augsburg was mostly fought in northern Europe it was the Italian front that William of Orange, leader of the Grand Alliance against the French, regarded as crucial. This book explains the political background, profiles the protagonists, and follows the course of the war. Historic portraits, maps and prints are supplemented by eight specially commissioned colour plates illustrating the combatants’ uniforms and flags.

Since the MiG-23 was introduced by the Soviets in the 1970s, it has been exported to five major Arab countries. Illustrated with rare images, this history shows the pivotal role it has played in subsequent conflicts in the region.

This reappraisal of the early battles of the Britons and Saxons casts doubt on the reliability of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, while proposing explanations, tactical overviews and locations for the battles that established the kingdom of Wessex. It starts with an account of the historical situation after the Roman occupation, before focusing on the crucial Battle of Badon Hill, and using detailed maps, military theory and battle plans to analyse subsequent campaigns.

At the outbreak of war with France in 1793, the British Army was significantly understrength and its soldiers lacked expertise in advanced manoeuvres. Britain therefore had to rely on auxiliaries from various German states to pursue Allied campaigns in the Low Countries. This account of their role provides previously unpublished information on the negotiation of treaties with German princes and the organization and experiences of the contingents.

After briefly surveying ancient constructions such as Maiden Castle and Gwalior Fort in India, Jeremy Black goes on to present a history of fortifications based on their depiction on maps and plans. From Norman castles – Pontefract is shown in a plan from 1561 – the book shows how buildings as bases for attack or defence changed as ever more powerful armaments were developed, up to the trenches and defences such as the Maginot and Siegfried Lines in the 20th century.

Challenging the conventional narratives of cotton mills and inspired innovators, Priya Satia argues that the constant state of war and Britain’s thriving gun trade were driving forces in the Industrial Revolution. Discussing the economic impact of war on political and industrial progress, she scrutinizes the claims by Samuel Galton Jnr, the leading gun manufacturer, that his industry was no worse than any other as everyone was participating in war manufacturing, and that guns were instruments of civilization, essential for preserving property. Slightly off-mint and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.