War (other)

Contemporary footage of the German advances through Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and France (1939–41) are featured on the three films on this DVD, with additional still images from the period.

Allied destroyers and escort ships were pitted against U-boats to protect supply convoys. These archive films include footage of a variety of vessels on both sides as well as privately filmed sequences taken by U-boat crew.

Heinrich Himmler’s fanaticism for the superiority of the Aryan race extended to mysticism and the occult and this programme explores his attempts to align his SS organization with an imagined ancient pagan master race.

As soon as the French troops entered a deserted Moscow in September 1812, a fire broke out that destroyed two thirds of the city and ultimately forced Napoleon to embark on the disastrous winter retreat that routed his army. Drawing on French, German, Polish and Russian archives and eyewitness accounts, Mikaberidze examines this pivotal event from Russian and French points of view, exploring the Russians’ motives for the conflagration and assessing its consequences.

The naval battle at Actium, when the future emperor Augustus defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra, was perhaps the most significant military engagement in Roman history. Yet many details of exactly what happened on that September day continue to elude scholars. This study of the literary and historical sources offers a fresh examination of the evidence, with close analysis of hitherto unconsidered allusions to Actium in the description of an equestrian engagement in Book Eleven of Virgil’s Aeneid.

The Macedonian army created by Philip II's reforms is widely recognized as representing 'one of the most important leaps in military thinking in the West before Napoleon'. However, Karunanithy's comprehensive analysis shows that modern scholarly research has neglected important sources of information about this hugely successful system. He presents the full range of archaeological and literary evidence, investigating such aspects as the army's training and preparation, soldiers' dress and battle equipment, and the logistical support provided by non-combatant specialists.

The United States relied on British and French aircraft designs during the First World War, but during and after the Second World War developed a pre-eminence in military aircraft design and manufacture that has continued up to today's cutting-edge models, such as the bat-winged B-2 stealth bomber. This volume is a succinct and highly illustrated guide to the most notable aircraft deployed, including classics such as the P-51 Mustang and B-52 Stratofortress.

The Napoleonic Wars were fought as far afield as South America and the Caribbean as well as in Europe, and in line with British military procedure every action was reported to the Admiralty or War Office in an official dispatch. This book collects these original communiqués from over 50 battles, up to 1806, including Nelson's victories at Trafalgar and the Nile and the first encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte himself, as a young captain, at the Siege of Toulon in 1793.

Focusing on the stories of airmen downed over the Western Front, Martin Bowman's book gives accounts of some of the daring and heroic actions by the pilots who flew the First World War Zeppelins and biplanes. British, American, French and Commonwealth airmen also describe their incarceration and the often foul conditions in the German PoW camps; and there are the stories of those who did not survive, but died in their aircraft.

The superior resources available to Cromwell's parliamentary forces have been cited as the decisive advantage in the first English Civil War of 1642–6, but the reasons for the King's defeat have been as much disputed as the causes of the war itself. This analysis focuses on the key battles, exploring contemporary accounts, historians' narratives and the battlefield terrain to question traditional assumptions about each battle and therefore the course of the war.

Attempting to open up another front against Napoleon, Britain sent a force of 40,000 men and 600 ships to the Dutch coast at Walcheren in 1809. Although 4,000 men were lost in the debacle, few of them were casualties of any fighting but rather a mysterious disease that became known as Walcheren Fever. A Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Pathologists, author Martin Howard applies medical as well as historical analysis to this account of the campaign.

In this first DVD of The Dark Ages series, two military historians examine the events of 1066, including battles at Fulford and Stamford Bridge and William’s landing at Pevensey as well as the Battle of Hastings.

When Gerald Constable Maxwell was flying as a fighter pilot in WWI his brother Michael was born – both went on to have distinguished flying careers in WWII. This is the story of

After three military defeats in a week in South Africa in late 1900, two military heroes – Field Marshal Lord Roberts and Major General Lord Kitchener – were sent to replace the beleaguered General Sir Redvers Buller. This study of a spectacularly successful military partnership describes how, within weeks, Roberts and Kitchener had raised morale, reorganized their forces and transformed the war; but also how the relief of Kimberley and Ladysmith and the defeat of Boer forces sometimes involved less than heroic tactics.

Having first spotted parallels between the naval campaigns of Sir James Gordon (1782–1869) and Horatio Hornblower on the Potomac River in 1812, Bryan Perrett went on to write this biography of Gordon and his remarkable 75 years in the Royal Navy.

Beginning with the Roman occupation, Roy Pugh examines the battles that took place on Scottish soil between Mons Graupius in 83 CE and Culloden in 1746. As well as describing the engagements, with maps of the major battlefields, Pugh provides the political and cultural background to each period of conflict, among them the three phases of the Wars of Independence from 1296 to 1560; the Rough Wooing and Mary, Queen of Scots; the 'Killing Time' (1666–1688); and the Jacobite Rebellions.

The massive invasion of Greece by Darius I in 490 BCE ended in failure at the battle of Marathon; when his successor, Xerxes, led a second expedition ten years later, the Persian force was again driven back following the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea. Keaveney combines ancient sources and modern scholarship to explain the reasons for the enmity between the two civilizations and to analyse the events of these pivotal campaigns from both Greek and Persian perspectives.

Giving a fresh perspective on key events between the Siege of Toulon in 1793 and Waterloo in 1815, Divall focuses not on commanders or elite units, but on the ordinary fighting men in the 30th Regiment of the Line.

If Wellington valued the rank and file of his army (despite calling them 'the scum of the earth') much of the civilian population had a low opinion of their qualities. This detailed survey of the ordinary soldiers in the British Army of the Napoleonic era draws on contemporary testimony and records to describe the men and their backgrounds, explain the military organization and harsh code of discipline that governed them, and explore their living conditions and place in society.

In 264 BCE, when the Romans first went to war with Carthage, they had no navy, relying instead on ships from South Italian cities. However, when the Punic Wars ended more than a century later, Rome had developed a powerful fleet, which would prove vital for imperial expansion. DeSantis traces the growth of this naval supremacy and discusses the tactics that made it possible, such as the boarding-bridge by which the superior Roman infantry simply walked onto the enemy’s decks.

During the Second World War the German Kriegsmarine conducted many large scale fleet manoeuvers (sic) in the Atlantic and Pacific. Using rare German archive footage, this DVD shows these spectacular naval actions. The main film is accompanied by shorter pieces on the Battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. 1 DVD; running time 60 min.

Simon James takes an archaeologist’s approach to the study of Rome’s military history, telling the story of the sword – ‘the literal cutting edge of Roman power’ – from early times to the fall of the western empire. To supplement the battle narratives of ancient historical writers, he explains developments in sword-smithing techniques and military ideology, considers cultural reasons for changes in hardware and tactics and helps the reader to visualize the direct human experience of the ‘myriad individual acts of mayhem’ in battle.

After D-Day, the SAS was given the dangerous task of sabotaging the railways carrying reinforcements to Normandy, with fatal consequences. The first of two Battlefield History TV documentaries filmed on location tells the story using archive footage, photos and reconstructions.

Made by the Battlefield History TV team, this film follows the extremely dangerous – and for many, fatal – SAS campaign to disrupt railways and delay German reinforcements in Normandy. Running time 60mins.

This film was made in 1943 to inform and motivate German troops facing the Russian advance. Including a dramatization of an offensive by Soviet T34s, it gives a detailed summary of the advice given to infantrymen on repelling such attacks.

Operation Chariot was a 1942 Combined Operations-run attack on a crucial dry dock in Normandy. In this documentary the Battlefield History TV experts tell the story on location with archive material and contributions from participant Major-General Corran Purdon.

Manfred von Richthofen was the leading ace of the First World War and helped to develop effective new aerial combat tactics while leading his Jagdgeschwader 1 fighter unit. This documentary includes original wartime footage, a revealing assessment of the controversial circumstances of his death and bonus galleries of archive photographs. DVD.

Part of a series that uses original German newsreel film to examine the military history of the Third Reich, this DVD records the military events surrounding the decline and defeat of the U-Boat fleets.

Comprising two films – U-Boat Type VIIC and U-Boat Manoeuver 1938 – this DVD gives a concise history of the Kriegsmarine’s legendary VIIC using rare German archive footage. Running time 55 mins.

This compilation of the RAF’s official ‘Gen’ films from 1944 includes an animated propaganda warning from the USA and footage on the war in the Pacific, the liberation of Brussels and the WAAF’s contribution to the war effort.

This World War II from Primary Sources DVD uses newsreels, propaganda footage and interviews with veteran pilots to follow the wartime operations of the Luftwaffe’s dive bomber, the Stuka (Junkers Ju 87).

This DVD presents a rare film from 1947: the Soviet documentary of the Nuremberg trials, which, despite its partisan nature, is interesting for making the Soviet case against some of the more lenient sentences. World War II from Primary Sources series.

The He 111 was a primary Luftwaffe medium bomber in service 1939 to 1944. Using subtitled footage from the weekly Wochenschau newsreels, this DVD shows bomber crews preparing for and carrying out raids on Polish cities during the German invasion, along with footage of the destruction.

The start of Operation Barbarossa is depicted in this collection of subtitled footage from the Wochenschau newsreels. Starting with Hitler’s repudiation of the Non-Aggression Pact, it shows battle scenes, Jewish ghetto clearances and captured Bolsheviks from Russia’s borders with the Baltic States and Eastern Europe.

Using original German newsreel footage with new English commentary, this documentary records the often forgotten story of Hitler’s armies on the northern front, engaged in the long and bitter struggle with the Red Army.

This DVD covers actions involving German Panzer, heavy artillery and the Kriegsmarine in the West: Operation Cerberus; the Dieppe Raid; and the Ardennes offensive. 1 DVD, running time 58 mins.

Edited and translated into English, these newsreel films of the German Propaganda Kompanien provide an account of events in Danzig and the fall of Poland (August–September 1939) as they were presented to German wartime audiences.

The ‘Gen’ films were originally made to communicate RAF activities to RAF personnel and the general public. This DVD presents all three Gen films from 1943, including coverage of assembling Spitfires in Gibraltar and the Queen congratulating the Dambuster crews.

This Academy Award-winning 1945 celebration of the Allied invasion is narrated using first-hand accounts from troops, resistance fighters, medics and civilians. Introduced by General Dwight Eisenhower, it includes extensive and rarely seen footage from the preparations, battles and aftermath through to the final German surrender.

This World War Two from Primary Sources DVD comprises three contemporary films featuring footage of the Spitfire in combat and on the ground: a public information newsreel on aircraft identification, Air Marshal Philip Joubert’s documentary tribute to the pilots and a detailed maintenance guide.

Using German archive film with English voice-over, this DVD follows a year of defensive war by German Tiger, Panther and 8.8 FLAK units fighting against the Red Army on the Eastern front. One DVD; running time approx 58 min.

This film from the German Army in Normandy series focuses on the elite division, formed of Hitler Youth volunteers, that fought to frustrate Montgomery's invasion plans in Normandy in 1944.

These two films comprise archive footage of the feared German battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz and the heavily armed cruisers Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee.

Part of the Hitler’s War Machine series tracing the military history of the Third Reich through wartime German newsreels with English translation, this film records the decisive and massively destructive siege of Leningrad, which lasted from September 1941 to the Red Army victory in January 1944.

While the airborne troops secured the route, the advance along it was to be made by the British XXX Corps. In the event, progress was slow and fierce fighting along the road earned it the nickname, 'Hell's Highway'. DVD.

The Battle of Mons was the first engagement for the British Expeditionary Force, meeting the German Army on the Belgian-French border in August 1914. Despite performing well they were forced into a withdrawal through the sprawling industrial area around Mons, in the face of superior German numbers. This feature-length documentary visits key locations in France and Belgium to tell the story of the BEF from arrival in France to the perilous retreat from the battle. 1 DVD 90min

Using archive footage, interviews with veterans and expert commentary, this film describes the development of the glider from the First to the Second World War and charts the history of the famous Glider Pilot Regiment and their role in actions such as the capture of Pegasus Bridge, Arnhem and the Rhine Crossing. Running time approx 120 min. DVD.

With the British 1st Airborne Division thwarted and isolated at Arnhem, the paratroopers fell back to Oosterbeek and a grim battle ensued against the German forces, which included the flame-throwing tanks of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. DVD.

Recording Churchill’s attempt to seize the ‘soft underbelly’ of Europe, the DVD shows how Germany’s defensive battles lasted until the final moments of the Second World War.

Part of the World War II from Primary Sources series, this DVD features material from the ‘Gen’ series of official RAF films made to communicate their activities to the public during wartime.

Using original German film footage, these two films (on one DVD) track the successes and failures of the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and Ju 88 aircraft during the course of the Second World War. 55mins.

In 1943 Bob Laycock succeeded Louis Mountbatten as Chief of Combined Operations, becoming the youngest major general in the British Army. This biography examines a military career that began with the Royal Horse Guards in 1927, ended with a period as Governor of Malta in the 1950s but is chiefly notable for involvement in the Battle of Crete, the Rommel Raid and in particular for a part in establishing the Commando special forces units.

During the Cold War, Warsaw Pact countries prepared for a third world war by manufacturing thousands of weapons, including Badger and Backfire bombers, MiG fighters and nuclear submarines. This fully illustrated guide by a former Intelligence Officer and military expert focuses on aircraft, warships and missiles (a companion volume focuses on ground vehicles), some of which are still deployed by armies and militia groups today.

Only two of Yorkshire’s wartime airfields are still in use by the RAF but during the Second World War the county was home to 33 stations of No.4 Group and No.6 Group, staging raids against the Ruhr, Hamburg and Berlin. Brief histories of the airfields are given in this volume, together with stories of notable characters and events and details of what remains of the bases today.

Formed in 1936, 1 Group was initially equipped with Fairey Battles, and by 1939 was flying from five stations: Abingdon, Harwell, Bicester, Boscombe Down and Benson, which became Advanced Air Striking Force HQ. In another of his meticulously detailed Group histories, Chris Ward presents a complete account of 1 Group's wartime activities, including individual squadron statistics and details of commanding officers, stations and aircraft losses.

The primary role of American B-52 bombers in the earlier years covered by this study was to carry the US nuclear threat. Other jet operations of the 1950s and 1960s saw MiGs, Mirages and F-4 Phantoms in action in conflicts including the Six Day War and Vietnam.

With support from the Allies in the First World War, Japan took the opportunity to invade Germany’s Pacific colonies. Drawing on records from both sides, this book reveals the political background to a conflict that climaxed in the siege of the German base at Tsingtau, China.

Having lived in Germany for a time before the outbreak of the First World War, middle-aged, middle-class diarist Mabel Goode knew 'the enemy nation' as many Britons did not, which adds an extra dimension to her contemporary account of the years 1914–1916. She records enrolment, rationing, the collapse of domestic service and the growth of war work, the Zeppelin attacks over Yorkshire, the ever-mounting casualty lists and a growing disillusionment with a lengthening conflict.

Gabrielle West worked variously as a Red Cross volunteer, a cook and a police officer during the First World War. Her diary entries, now part of the Imperial War Museum archives, note the discrimination she encountered as a woman in a position of responsibility, and the dangers posed by the Zeppelin raids over London. They paint a lively picture of her experience of the British Home Front and are illustrated with her drawings and family photographs.

Within days of the start of the First World War there were calls for women to come to the fields, but it would be almost three years before the Women’s Land Army was formally established. Using previously unpublished accounts and photographs, this social history examines how the movement impacted agriculture at a time of national crisis and examines the rhetoric surrounding it, the political purpose that shaped it and the experiences of those who worked for it.

Tanks became the main weapon of the Wehrmacht in the 1940s and this guide provides a concise history of all types used, from small armoured vehicles to the various developments of infantry Panzer and the big-gunned Howitzer-Panzer.

Still an important part of the German military capability in the Nazi era, the artillery reviewed here includes mortars, infantry, mountain and anti-tank guns, and light, medium and heavy field guns.

Armoured scout cars, personnel carriers, tracked lorries, armoured tractors and self-propelled anti-tank and flak guns are among the 75 Second World War German military vehicles detailed in this volume.

Trained to precisely target individual combatants, marksmen were deployed in the First World War to tackle the static nature of much of the fighting. Featuring eyewitness accounts, this study analyses their role on the Western Front and in other theatres of the war, describes the training, fieldcraft and counter-sniping measures that were employed and outlines developments in rifles, ammunition and sighting equipment.

Although successful in its primary objectives, the ingenious ‘Dambusters’ bombing raid of May 1943 failed to halt production in the Ruhr factories but it did devastate infrastructure and inundate towns and villages over a wide area. Using eyewitness accounts and archive photographs, this analysis examines the Allied operation itself, looks at the resulting destruction and aftermath from the German perspective, and describes the rapid rebuilding programme.

The three battalions of Durham Light Infantry raised during the First World War all saw significant action in France from 1916. This history describes their recruitment, training and active service and is supported by first-hand accounts and archive photographs.

The husband of Daphne du Maurier, Frederick ‘Boy’ Browning was the founding commander of the British Airborne forces in the Second World War. This biography charts a colourful life in which he also achieved distinction in the First World War and competed in the Olympics .

Picture postcards were the main way that troops and their families communicated during the 1914‒18 war, and the illustrations and slogans they displayed give us insights into their lives and attitudes. The more than 500 contemporary cards in this collection come from a variety of home fronts and theatres of war around the world. They demonstrate everything from patriotic propaganda and angry satire to startling images of, mass graves, proud displays of new weapons and soldiers cheerfully posing in gas masks.

Slightly off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.

Slightly off-mint.