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Engineering entrepreneur James Edmiston acquired the Sterling Armament Company in 1971 while still in his twenties. The company was notable for manufacturing one of the most famous sub-machine guns ever produced. The Sterling had seen limited use in the Second World War and by 1953 had been formally adopted by the British Army. Sterling guns were even the basis for the weapons used by the Storm Troopers in the Star Wars films.By the beginning of the 1970s the Sterling Armament Company had been in operational difficulties. James set about putting its troubles to rights and building on its reputation for manufacturing the best quality, high-performance machine guns that could be obtained. By the age of 40 he had turned the business around and was successfully selling Sterling guns to legitimate purchasers all around the world adhering strictly to the rigorous British licensing and export regulations.But all this suddenly changed when James, along with arms dealer Reginald Dunk, was wrongly charged with illegal arms exports through Jordan to Iraq at a time when British policies were reacting to rapidly fluctuating foreign regime changes and allegiances.Their defence resulted in a merry-go-round of legal wrangles involving the British Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and Customs & Excise.In 1985 Reginald Dunk was persuaded to plead guilty to the charges after an important witness reneged on assurances to come to court to prove his innocence. James was acquitted and it later transpired that the authorities had only been after Dunk anyway perhaps to settle another, unrelated, score. So James had all along been a pawn in a wider game that seemed incomprehensible to him at the time.The case was to have serious repercussions in Whitehall when the Scott Report (commissioned in 1992 to inspect cases of reported arms sales in the 1980s to Iraq by British companies) discovered a cover-up in the Sterling case and that senior officials had blocked Dunks witnesses. The Report condemned the misconduct as disgraceful.Though his conviction was quashed and Dunk received more than 2m for wrongful conviction in 1999, compensation for James seemed impossible because of a curious anomaly in the legal system.It was only through the efforts of Lawrence Kormornick, the lawyer who had helped Dunk receive eventual acquittal and compensation, that James could have any hope of recompense. Another fifteen years of legal battles would ensue before the matter was brought to some sort of conclusion in 2008.The book follows a period of more than twenty-five years from the sudden and unimaginable accusation of illegal arms dealing, through the ensuing legal and personal struggles that James Edmiston experienced.Packed with ironies, twists of fate and many unanswered questions it is a compelling read for anyone interested in political intrigue and abuse of power, miscarriage of justice and learning about how an individual took on the state.

From the start of the invasion and occupation of Poland, Nazi Germany waged a vernichtungskrieg – a war of annihilation – in the East. The people of Poland were the first to feel the wrath of Nazi repression in the East in what would serve as a blueprint for the terrors which would be inflicted on other nations when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union.The Germans had prepared carefully for the invasion of Poland. This encompassed securing the newly conquered territories and the premeditated murder of many innocent civilians, and the depopulation of Poles from entire regions of the country. Hitler instructed his henchmen to act ruthlessly, not only against any organized resistance in Poland, but against the Polish civilian population as well. When Polish patriots were stung into organized retaliation, the stage was set for a savage conflict which was waged throughout the war between the Nazi war machine and its immense internal security forces and Poland’s partisans.To adequately supress the Poles necessitated the transfer of German training, reserve, and replacement troops into Poland, who in normal circumstances would have remained inside the borders of the Reich. Yet, as the Polish patriots increased their attacks against the Nazi oppressor, Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler also found it increasingly necessary to reinforce the existing SS and police forces already stationed in Poland. Beginning in the spring of 1942 Polish guerrilla attacks against the Nazi occupation army increased, and by 1943 the Germans were losing, on average, twenty-five to thirty men per day on Polish territory. The culmination of resistance to German rule was the uprising by the Polish Home Army on 1 August 1944 in the Polish capital. The brutal Warsaw Uprising saw the loss of unknown thousands of men on both sides and the death of possibly more than 100,000 civilians.Employing dozens of actual German Bandenlagekarten wartime anti-partisan maps, plus newly created detailed battle maps and full orders of battle, Dr Munoz brings this little-known conflict in Poland into hard focus for the very first time, with every major, and some minor, anti-guerrilla operation in Poland being comprehensively presented. Hitler’s War Against Poland’s Partisans is the first time the entire partisan and anti-partisan war in Poland has been fully documented from start to finish.

'Lively, ingenious and original' – Sir Lawrence Freedman'Eye-opening . . . a powerful argument' – Mail on SundayDiscover the new science behind warfare. From Dr Nicholas Wright, leading neuroscientist and adviser to the Pentagon. Why did France lose to the Nazis, despite its defenders having more tanks, troops, and guns? How did Ukraine repel Russia’s initial onslaught? How do you know if you can trust an ally? How can we make clearer decisions under pressur? n Warhead, Nicholas Wright takes us on a fascinating journey through the brain to show you why, if you want to understand warfare, you must first look inside your own head. Drawing on his work as a neuroscientist, and over a decade advising the Pentagon and the UK Government, he reveals how, whether we like it or not, the brain is wired for conflict – in the office or on the battlefield. With a unique framework that helps explain today’s rising tensions and how to defuse them, Warhead brings cutting-edge research to life through battle stories from across history. What was it like for a foot soldier at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? How could Shaka Zulu or Winston Churchill see through the fog of conflict, make better decisions, and communicate with their troops? How will human conflict shape our future technologie? n an increasingly dangerous world that threatens our values and success, Warhead is an essential read to understand why we fight, lose and win wars. 'A mind-expanding journey . . . invigorating, educational and entertaining' – Peter Pomerantsev, author of How to Win an Information War

VF Eberle MC joined up on the outbreak of the war in No 2 Field Company Royal Engineers, 48th (South Midland) Division, the same company as his brother, who was a captain in it. He was commissioned before sailing for France at the end of March 1915 and remained with it for the rest of the war. In that time he saw action on the Somme and in the Advance to the Hindenburg Line before his Division took part for most of the Battle of Third Ypres (Passchendaele). Transferred to Italy at the end of 1917, he took part in the final stages of the war, including the Battle of Asiago.Besides his eloquent description of the work of a field company RE, he spends some time in outlining his role in the development of the Bangalore Torpedo.Based on his war time letters, diaries and records - which can now be consulted in the Imperial War Museum, it gives a detailed picture of the employment of a field company in war, both during periods of relative tranquility as well as during major offensives. There are relatively few memoirs of Royal Engineers'' officers, especially of those in his position, so close to the line. The memoirs benefit from his key eye for observation and his skilful use of the material available to him, making this a fine addition to the literature of the Great War.

This is the story of Thomas Lancashire who joined the RAF in 1936 and became one of the famous Trenchard Brats at RAF Halton to be educated and learn the trade of fitter. He was first posted to 7 Squadron in 1939, at that time flying Whitley bombers but decided to advance himself to become a flight engineer on the new Stirling heavy bomber. He was posted to 15 Squadron at Wyton and completed a full tour that included the famous Lbeck raid, the Thousand Bomber assault on Cologne and the follow up on Essen during which he was almost shot down over Antwerp. In July 1942 he was rested and became an instructor until being posted to 97 Squadron flying Lancasters. On his ninth raid of this tour, 11 August 1943, the aircraft was attacked by a night fighter over Belgium but he successfully baled out and was eventually picked up by the Resistance and handed to an escape line. Eventually the group of evaders was betrayed by a German agent and placed in captivity, ending up in Stalag Luft IV at Mhlberg. During this time he escaped but was eventually recaptured and he was forced to share the growing despair and hardships in late 1944, enduring overcrowding, hunger and cold, until the Russian Army liberated the camp and he was airlifted back to the UK. His post-war career took him to Canada where he was employed on the Avro Arrow project until it was abandoned and he was forced to seek work in the USA. He worked with Boeing until his retirement .

Writing Female Smugglers of the Nineteenth Century has proved quite a challenge, but a fascinating one. This was a century when the romantic notion of smuggling – bold runs onto beaches with kegs of alcohol – was diminishing as duties were slowly eroded on such highly desirable goods. But it was a century when more innovative and ingenious ways of smuggling a larger variety of goods came to the fore. Tobacco and alcohol, yes, but also lace, luxury fabrics and garments, jewellery and even looms were being smuggled in, and out of the U.K. This was not the century of the popular “pirate” figures of the eighteenth century with its famous female figureheads. The early part of the nineteenth century saw women involved in helping their husbands and family with unloading and distributing goods, seen as a survival necessity given their limited incomes … latterly, more well-heeled women on superior vessels were smuggling goods for themselves, often thanks to the fashion for bustles!Of course, as in all areas of history, women are often disregarded and demoted to second-rate roles, so finding out about such women has only been possible thanks to court records, oral history, and newspaper reports. As a result, the subject has not been covered elsewhere in any great detail and this book attempts to resolve that gap. It covers the whole of the U.K. and has chapters on the U.S.A. and Europe and is intended to entertain and amuse as well as, perhaps, to educate.

When North Korea mounted its audacious surprise invasion of South Korea in June 1950, the world was stunned. Within 3 days, the Soviet backed North Koreans had captured the South Korean capital of Seoul and threatened to soon take over the entire country. Facing imminent defeat, the South Koreans and their American allies put out the call for urgent reinforcements. Among the first to answer were the men of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade.Comprising units from five countries - Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India - the Commonwealth Brigade saw 9 months of brutal fighting. From the Pusan pocket in the far south, up to the border with Communist China, the disparate units of the Brigade were welded together into an extremely potent fighting force. The Commonwealth troops faced North Koreans, Chinese Communists and the equally brutal ‘General Winter’, emerging from numerous battles as a well-respected and effective force.This book is the first book which looks at the composition of each of the five countries which made up the Commonwealth Brigade and describes their commonalities and differences as well as how they were brought together to form a single effective unit. It also examines in detail the ‘friendly fire’ incident at Hill 282 when the Argylls were accidentally bombed by the US Airforce and the first VC of the war was awarded. This books also looks at the pivotal battle at Kapyong which helped to blunt the Chinese Spring Offensive of 1951. Unlike previous histories which often focussed on the actions of a single country, this book looks at the contributions of all of the Commonwealth forces as a whole and shows that it was the efforts of the Commonwealth troops together that led to their eventual success.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese quickly captured Hong Kong, Guam, Wake Island, the Gilbert Islands and Rabaul. Japanese conquests of Malaya and Singapore, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies and Burma followed into the spring of 1942. The Japanese juggernaut continued southwards with bases established at Salamaua and Lae in Northwest New Guinea followed by landings at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda along Papua’s northern coast as a prelude to capture Port Moresby over the Owen Stanley Range to threaten Australia.Despite a strategic American naval victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway, the Allied situation remained desperate. Japanese naval troops invaded Tulagi Island and nearby islets off the coast of Florida Island on 3–4 May 1942 to construct a seaplane and naval base. Japan’s goal of advancing through the southern Solomon Islands and beyond to New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa was to create a defensive buffer against an attack by a slowly-recovering American Navy and further isolate the Antipodes. In July 1942, Allied coast watchers and reconnaissance aircraft observed the construction of an airfield on Guadalcanal 20 miles to the south of Tulagi and Florida Islands.On 23 July 1942, American military leaders prioritized securing the South Pacific’s lines of communication and halting the Japanese advance. The American invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi became operational entailing hellacious land, air and sea battles from 7 August 1942 to 3 February 1943. Guadalcanal became the essential struggle between Allied and Japanese forces, with the victor to eventually control the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The events of the campaign are expertly described here with contemporary images and detailed text.

City of Kashmir offers readers a journey into the 2,000-year history of Srinagar, exploring its written history, legends and oral traditions to take a living pulse. In exploring the city''s geography, it maps the daily rituals of life and the accompanying material culture, as well as the crafts for which Srinagar is justly famed worldwide. Based on twenty years'' research in Srinagar as a heritage consultant, Sameer Hamdani''s narrative is shaped and populated by glimpses of the historical built environment and other rich personal reflections, as well as selected translations of Sanskrit, Persian and Kashmiri poetry from the medieval and early modern periods.  Hamdani provides a detailed overview of the origin and development of Srinagar on a scale never previously attempted, covering the entirety of the pre-Muslim and Muslim eras in medieval Kashmir, with a focus on the cultural life of the city. Richly illustrated with drawings, sketches and other images, this inviting book will be a timely addition to our expanding knowledge of regional cultures across South Asia, especially as witnessed through their material production and legacies. 

The post-war world was dominated by the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., but the events of 1956 exposed their limitations. On 22 October 1956, following Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden secretly met with French and Israeli leaders in Sevres, France. They agreed that Israel would invade Egypt, with Britain and France intervening under the guise of peacemaking to secure control of the canal and topple Nasser.On 23 October, far from the Middle East, hundreds of thousands of protesters in Budapest opposed Soviet occupation, tearing down Stalin statues. The uprising escalated as the Soviet Red Army intervened, leading to twelve days of violence, thousands killed or injured, and 250,000 Hungarians fleeing their country. Britain and France withdrew from the Suez after nine days of fighting, their ambitions thwarted by international pressure and canal closure.The U.S. and U.S.S.R. struggled to influence these events. The U.S., preoccupied with domestic elections and the threat of Soviet nuclear retaliation, could not support Eastern European movements. Soviet actions during the Hungarian uprising weakened their global image.Norman Ridley’s analysis reveals how these crises highlighted the limitations of superpower influence. Despite their nuclear strength, the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. faced challenges they could not overcome, showing their mutual struggles in shaping the post-war world order.

At dawn on 13 December 1939, smoke was seen on the horizon; HMS Exeter was told to close in and investigate. Two minutes later a dramatic signal was sent from the British cruiser I think it is a pocket battleship.It was. The Deutschland-class heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee, marauder of the South Atlantic shipping, had sailed into a trap. Three smaller British cruisers closed in on a German warship which, so Hitler had boasted, could out-sail any ship powerful enough to damage her, and out-gun any ship able to keep up with her an invincible ship.So began the Battle of the River Plate, story which has its duplicates in British naval history, but which nevertheless brought pride and inspiration into the hearts of a nation unwillingly at war once again.A terrible battle was fought that day off the coast of South America, a naval encounter in the finest Nelson tradition and true to that tradition, victory went to the men with the finest armament of all, courage.This edition will be presented with an Appendix containing the official despatch detailing the Battle of the River Plate.

The Early Anglo-Saxon Kings takes a new look at the adventus Saxonum, the arrival of the Saxons, recorded in the earliest literary sources. As the Roman provincial structure fragmented, new cultural identities emerged. In fifth century Britain whatever sense of pax Romana remained gave way to a war-band culture which dominated both Brythonic and Germanic peoples. Villas left abandoned were replaced by the mead-hall. These halls now rang with the songs and poems of bards and scops. Tales of famous battles such as mons Badonicus and Cattraeth filled the air.Out of the ashes of the former Roman diocese new kingdoms emerged. One major factor was the settlement of significant numbers of Germanic peoples in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. The first kings of these peoples are shrouded in legends and myth, such as the leaders of the first group of mercenaries, Hengest and Horsa, as well as Alle of the South Saxons, Cerdic and Cynric and later Ceawlin of Wessex. The book takes the reader from the early-fifth century through to the mid-seventh century and the death of the last great pagan Anglo-Saxon king, Penda of Mercia.An entertaining journey across the landscape of Britain in search of battle-sites and burial-mounds, this book brings to life the world that produced Y Gododdin and Beowulf; a world that saw warlords and kings carve out new kingdoms from the carcass of post-Roman Britain.

In the case of military muskets and rifles the bayonet was, and still is, an integral part of the ‘weapon system’. There are many excellent books covering the history of the bayonet in its myriad varieties adopted and used by the armed forces of the world. These books provide a wealth of detail on national variations and often include many rare, and in some instances, bizarre bayonets. They focus on the end of the bayonet’s story and do not cover its beginning – the conversion of more or less amorphous pieces of iron and steel into finished products. That is the focus of this publication.It might be asked why, out of all the bayonets of the world, these three have been selected since at first sight they appear very ordinary and mundane when compared with some of their more ‘exotic’ brethren. However, as with the arms they were fitted to and whose manufacture has been covered in two earlier companion volumes, they are the only bayonets whose manufacture is described in varying degrees of detail in contemporary publications. They also share another kinship since, like the weapons they fitted, the Russian M.1808 is a direct copy, and the Enfield Pattern 1853 bayonet a descendant of, the French M.1777. This bayonet was a major landmark in socket bayonet design. It may be distasteful and not something to be contemplated lightly, but the socket bayonet’s function at the end of a musket was to penetrate the body of an enemy in close combat. Earlier bayonets having a plain mortice or ‘zig-zag’ slot engaging with a stud on the barrel to hold them in place, might easily be removed from the musket by one or other of the adversaries twisting it in the wrong direction. Honoré Blanc’s design, with its medial locking ring, prevented such accidental removal and became the prototype for many, if not all, socket bayonets which followed through to the end of the 19th century.

Soviet Secret Police Chiefs, 1926–1953. Commissars of Fear is a combined edition of two works by Boris V. Sokolov, detailing the lives and careers of the six Soviet secret police heads from Dzerzhinskii to Abakumov. The book brings together The People’s Commissars of Fear and its expanded version The People’s Commissars of Terror, offering a comprehensive view of the men who led Stalin’s apparatus of repression.This reflection on the Soviet era, particularly from the 1920s to the 1950s under Stalin, challenges romanticized views of the past by revealing it as a grim and tragic period. The fates of the six Soviet secret police chiefs—once powerful figures of state repression—serve as stark illustrations. These men, who were responsible for countless deaths during the Great Terror, ultimately shared the fate of their victims, executed by the same regime they served. The author stresses that they were not inherently monstrous but ordinary individuals shaped—and corrupted—by a criminal system. Had historical circumstances differed, they might have lived quiet lives. The positions they held sealed their destinies, making them too dangerous for the regime to keep alive due to the blood they had on their hands, which mirrored that of the top party leadership. Their tragic end highlights how power not only corrupted but consumed its own agents. The author concludes that it was not personal evil but the systemic, criminal nature of Soviet power that transformed these otherwise mediocre men into enduring symbols of terror.A note of gratitude is extended to individuals and institutions who supported the book’s research, especially the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI).

The fourth in a series of books that examine German officers who were promoted to the rank of general and who were also awarded the Knight’s Cross, this volume covers the last months of the Second World War. During the period from 13 February 1944 to Germany’s surrender on 9 May 1945, there were 115 generals who received the award. This total comprised eighteen full Generals; fifty-eight Generalleutnants and thirty-nine Generalmajors.One of these men was Generalleutnant Gustav Heistermann von Ziehlberg, who was awarded the Knight’s Cross, on 27 July 1944, whilst Commander of the 28th Jäger Division for actions in the Soviet Union. However he was arrested by the Gestapo in November 1944 in connection with the July bomb plot against Hitler. He was later stripped of all awards and executed by firing squad on 2 February 1945.On 26 March 1944, General der Infanterie Hans Krebs was awarded the Knight’s Cross and in February 1945 he received the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves. During the last weeks of the war he served as Acting Chief of Operations Staff of the Army General Staff, succeeding Generaloberst Heinz Guderian who had been sacked by Hitler. Krebs moved his headquarters to Hitler’s bunker during the last days of the Reich and after Hitler’s suicide he met up with Soviet generals to try and negotiate Germany’s surrender, but this failed. Together with General Wilhelm Burgdorff, he shot himself later that same day.With each individual’s entry there is a detailed description of how and where the Knight’s Cross was won.

The official account of the Royal Artillery’s activities in the Normandy campaign, this volume breaks down the historic achievements of the Regiment, integrating newly published research with a detailed account of their activities, logistics and equipment in the offensive.Gunners in Normandy includes mention of every regiment that served, a Roll of Honour, and a list of the dead by unit. This book presents the definitive record of events, assembled from interviews with veterans, papers and documents from the Firepower Archives, terrain studies, personal memoirs, war diaries and other official documents. Serious students of the battle for Normandy should find this essential reading, with comprehensive coverage of the role of the Royal Artillery, and much material not published anywhere else, including orders of battle, the details of targets engaged by the guns and their effectiveness.

The epic story of Helsinki--founded by Sweden, refashioned by Russia, forever shaped by the sea.Over 475 years, the Finnish capital has gone from a sleepy fishing village to a thriving Nordic metropolis, globally renowned for its architecture, design and quality of life. This intricate and expansive new history lays bare the perils--and occasional perks--of Helsinki''s position on the Baltic Sea, sandwiched between East and West.In flowing prose and fascinating anecdotes, Henrik Meinander explores all corners of Helsinki''s past, from trade and the Olympics to the colour of everyday life. He narrates the city''s survival through the rise and fall of two empires; its triumph as an independent capital in 1917; and how, since then, it has grown and flourished through language battles, Soviet air raids and Cold War compromises.More than most European capitals, Helsinki has spent centuries at the mercy of geopolitical twists and turns far beyond its control. This book is a timely reminder of how quickly such forces can alter a city''s destiny--yet, ultimately, can be overcome.

Tug Wilson becomes the luckiest aviator in the world when he is selected to fly the F-18 Hornet on an exchange posting with the US Marine Corps. And then it gets better: he finds himself living in Ocean Beach in San Diego and flying out of the TOPGUN hangar at Miramar!Representing both his country and the Royal Air Force, you might think he would have gained enough maturity by now to get through this tour without too much drama… Alas, no. During his three-year fantasy ride, pushing the world’s most intoxicating jet to its red-hot limits and loving every moment, Tug narrowly avoids causing an unholy trinity of diplomatic incidents. Seriously, what did you expec? o jump into the cockpit with Tug and experience the unrivalled camaraderie of the US Marine Corps, see how wondrous the exalted F-18 Hornet truly is, and find out what happens when a Yorkshire boy accustomed to the glamour of RAF Valley on the Isle of Anglesey is thrown into the California dreamland. This is the Wild West in the wildest of jets, and I can tell you, for a fighter pilot, it doesn’t get better than this.

Remarkable Renaissance Books tells the story of eighteen extraordinary early printed volumes, from the very first titles printed in the fifteenth century to the groundbreaking scientific texts of the Enlightenment. Including Gutenberg’s watershed Bible, a maths book illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo’s observations of mountains on the Moon, Kepler’s treatise on a supernova, Robert Hooke’s discovery of microscopic honeycomb structures he coined cells, and Maria Sibylla Merian’s pioneering studies of metamorphosis, these beautiful books and their enthralling histories, prehistories and legacies chart the fascinating stories of readers, writers, printers, scientists, philosophers and artists, and the part they played in forging the modern world. In addition to highlighting their production and reception, the author traces each book’s journey into print, painting a vivid and enthralling picture of remarkable books authored by prodigious minds. This lavishly illustrated volume brings the early print culture of the Renaissance to life and will appeal to lovers of books and history alike.