Pen Sword Books - Böcker

VILLERS-BOCAGE Operation Perch, the complete account Villers-Bocage remains lodged in the imagination of many readers as a costly and controversial defeat for the British Army in Normandy. This point of view is entirely reliant on just ten minutes...

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Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the 'modern' tented travelling shows. A performer and founder of a circus group, Steve Ward draws on eye-witness accounts and contemporary interviews to e...

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The British Expeditionary Force sent to France in the late summer of 1914 has been referred to as the 'Best British Army Ever Sent to War' as it was one of the most highly trained and disciplined forces in the world. It was also the 'Best Birdwatc...

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This magnificent book tells the story of the evolution of swords, how they were made, how they were used, and the people that used them. It doesn't claim to give comprehensive coverage but instead takes certain surviving examples as landmarks on a...

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Throughout most of the classical period, Persia was one of the great superpowers, placing a limit on the expansion of Western powers. It was the most formidable rival to the Roman empire for centuries, until Persia, by then under the Sassanians, w...

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Stalingrad was not only the most-crucial battle on the Eastern Front, it was the main turning point of the whole Second World War in Europe. The Third Reich had suffered setbacks earlier, notably at El Alamein in North Africa in October 1942, but ...

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Archaeology provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the aviators of the First World War. Their descriptions of the sensation of flying in the open cockpits of the primitive warplanes of the day, and the artefacts that have survived from t...

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An analytical investigation into Prime Minister Winston Churchill's decision-making process during every stage of World War II. When Winston Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of De...

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During the Allied advance across northwest Europe in 1944, the opening up of the key port of Antwerp was a pivotal event, yet it has been neglected in histories of the conflict. The battles in Normandy and on the German frontier have been studied ...

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With the outbreak of the Second World War, Shropshire authorities immediately implemented pre-arranged plans to cope with the approaching conflict on the Home Front, including the building of air raid shelters and pillboxes and the renovation of r...

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Operation Frankton is a story of how a handful of determined and resourceful men, using flimsy canoes, achieved what thousands could not by conventional means. The volunteers had enlisted for Hostilities Only and, except for their leader, none had...

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Covering the important WW1 Battles of Ypres, including the notorious Passchendaele, this guidebook takes readers on a historic trip through some of the well-known and most important sites of the area. This book, part of a new series of guides, is ...

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This guide to the battlefields of Ypres is intended for both the casual tourist and the serious scholar. Sanctuary Wood and the village of Hooge saw intense fighting during World War I, being situated for much of the time in the front line of the ...

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In this last volume of a monumental chronicl e, the author shows the part played by the British cavalry i n the First World War. Drawing on material from a number of sources he demonstrates how the cavalry''s superior mobility saved the day time a...

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The tiny French hamlet of Serre, the norther nmost part of the front for the July 1st 1916 attack is the subject of the fifth of the Battleground Europe series. Thre e other battles at Serre are also covered. '

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This addition to the growing series of battlefield guides has been written by Michael Stedman, author of Thiepval. Drawing upon the wealth of material available in both national and local archives, documentary evidence, personal reminiscence and B...

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The British offensive, which became known as Passchendaele, got underway on 31 July, 1917 with the objective of capturing fifteen miles of territory.The attack quickly lost momentum and, it was not until finally in November that the line managed t...

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The shell-ravaged landscape of Hill 60, some three miles south east of Ypres, conceals a labyrinth of tu nnels and underground workings. This book offers a guide to the memorials, cemeteries and museums at the site '

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Although the Battle of Arnhem was fought over sixty years ago. It still evokes such interest that it would seem to rank with the great victories of Agincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo and the Battle of Britain, all of which proved to be turning points ...

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Almost every British regiment saw action in "Devil''s" Wood in the long Somme summer. This series is desi gned for both the battlefield visitor and the armchair trave ller. The historical significance is described with the aid of maps an...

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Pozieres is the site of the Australians" fir st action on the Somme. This addition to the Battleground Eu rope series looks at the cemeteries, memorials and remnants of the battle, and presents walking tours of the battlegroun d '

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The battle of Guillemont raged throughout Au gust 1916. This book contains the story of this battle which was of a type that was repeated in many places across the S omme in that summer and autumn of 1916 '

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The battle for the possession of the villages of Messines Ridge, Messines, Wytchaete, St. Eloi, took place in 1914-17, and the final battle for Messines in 1918. The 1917 Battle of Messines was preceded by 19 giant mine explosions and was the bigg...

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Cambrai is most well known for the tank battle which took place in 1917. Although initially successful it soon became disastrous, and, as on other occasions throughout the War, the area changed hands many times. Illustrated with then and now pictu...

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As the battlefields of Gallipoli become even more firmly established on the tourist map, this book is bound to be as popular as it is useful. The format of Major and Mrs Holt's battlefield guides is by now tried and tested, providing as they do no...

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This is the story of the Battle of Calais, a short but bloody struggle to delay the German advance in May 1940. It is a story of uncertainty, of taut nerves, of heat, dust, raging thirst and hand-to-hand fighting in the narrow streets of the chann...

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The two authors, both formerly senior professional soldiers, have compiled an easy-to-follow itinerary to the British landings on 6 June 1944 on Gold Beach and the ensuing bitter fighting. Covered in detail are the actions which earned CSM Hollis ...

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The Battle for Mametz Wood is normally associated with the endeavours of the 38th Welsh Division and was the first of those great battles to secure possession of the woodlands of the Somme. The author looks at events after the 1st July, but also r...

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Weuner Furbringer (Fips) became one of the most successful U-Boat commanders in WW1 through a blend of skill, daring and, by his own typically modest admission, sheer luck. This vivid memoir, never before published in English, makes compelling rea...

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This is the first book in the Battleground Europe Series discovering the airfields and airmen of the Great War. It is sometimes forgotten that the Wright Brother's first flight took place only in 1903; yet fifteen years later the Royal Air Force h...

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