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The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAAF) serves as the primary reinforcement capability for the regular Royal Air Force (RAF). Established in October 1924 as the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), it consists of paid volunteers who train on evenings and weekends to support the RAF during national emergencies and conflicts. Their pre-war counterparts, alongside pilots of the RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain.Of the sixty-two squadrons involved in the Battle of Britain, fourteen were AAF units. These experienced Auxiliary squadrons claimed 30% of the enemy aircraft destroyed in the summer of 1940. Notably, No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron became the first Spitfire squadron to claim 100 enemy kills. The highest scoring Auxiliary unit was No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, which achieved fifty-eight kills under Squadron Leader George Denholm''s leadership.Auxiliary Aces of Churchill’s Few highlights the stories of many of these heroic pilots. Squadron Leader Archie McKellar, a plasterer turned fighter pilot with No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, became an "Ace in a Day" by shooting down five Me109s in just 24 hours while flying with No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron. Sergeant James ‘Ginger’ Lacey of No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron shot down a bomber attacking Buckingham Palace during his service. Flight Lieutenant Findlay Boyd of No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron downed a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka less than a minute after take-off, recording the fastest victory of the battle.The Auxiliaries’ dedication was remarkable, exemplified by their achievements, including the first flight over Mount Everest in 1933. Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park credited their contribution as essential, stating, ''Without the Auxiliaries we would not have defeated the Luftwaffe in 1940''. Auxiliary Aces of Churchill’s Few captures their bravery, skill, and vital role during this critical period.

By July 1940, Britain stood alone in Europe. Hitler's troops had reached the French coast after storming their way across northern Europe and, following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in June, it was assumed that the next battle of the Second World War would be fought on the beaches of southern England. The fear of German forces launching an invasion that summer was very real, and all that stood between Britain and Hitler was the English Channel. Almost every generation of Sussex men and women had learnt to live with the threat of attack from across the water. This time, though, the threat came not just from the sea but also from the sky and for the first time in history a battle would be fought, and won, almost exclusively in the air - for their invasion to succeed, the Germans needed to achieve air supremacy over both the Channel and the beaches of the south-east. Throughout July 1940 the Luftwaffe's attacks intensified, with the 10th now being considered the first day of the Battle of Britain. When Goring's aircraft launched their assault on the United Kingdom, many parts of the country found themselves quite literally on the front line - and no more so than the county of West Sussex. Drawing extensively on records held in local and national archives, Eddy Greenfield provides a detailed and comprehensive day-by-day account of activity in and over West Sussex throughout the campaign from 10 July to 31 October 1940\. It is not only a story of how the RAF and other defenders battled the Luftwaffe's relentless onslaught, but also how the residents in the county's towns and villages played their own part in the national war effort.

Since the beginning of manned flight, both racing and record-breaking feats have played a prominent part of the aviation scene, each activity stimulating and contributing significantly to the development of new aeroplane and engine projects.After the Second World War, the British aerospace industry boomed. It was a time when its designs, innovations and new aircraft developments led the world. It in this exciting post-war period, air racing resumed. Pre- war competitions were reinstated, and major new races were introduced. It was from this scene that six highly enthusiastic, extremely competitive, and fiercely driven racing pilots emerged: Nat Somers, Tony Cole, Geoffrey Allington, Fred Dunkerley, Jimmy Rush and Ron Paine.Three of the six had served in the RAF during the Second World War. One individual became a Vickers apprentice – an engineer who frequently suggested ways in which to get the best speeds out of all their aircraft, often by employing ingenious methods. One individual gained his experience as a Chief Test Pilot flying Fairey Battle’s, Hawker Hurricane’s, Short Stirling’s, and Avro Lancaster’s. Three individuals were already highly successful entrepreneurs. One later owned Panshanger and Southampton airport’s and went on to develop the Somers-Kendall SK-1 two-seat jet with the Chief Test Pilot for Handley Page. Another owned cotton mills and was awarded the OBE for services to the cotton industry; he collaborated with F.G. Miles Limited to modify the Sparrowhawk into the highly successful Sparrow jet. Both aircraft would rank among some of history’s most important civil private racing designs.What united the six men the most, though, was their unrelenting pursuit of speed. Such was their love of competitive flying and their ‘need for speed’, that they later went on to form the Throttle Benders Union. In this book the author delves into the details of these six aviators, as well as the inclusion of two later members to the TBU. From the early days learning to fly, through to their competitive racing careers, and touching upon their very varied and exciting working careers, this book reveals their achievements and many of their hair-raising adventures.

With their founding of the suffragette movement and passionate pursuit of votes for women, Emmeline Pankhurst and her three daughters—Christabel, Sylvia and Adela—forever altered the course of British history.This book offers a compelling exploration of their pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement while uncovering the personal stories behind these trailblazing women. What motivated this post-Victorian middle-class family to risk everything—their reputations, their livelihoods, even their very lives—for the cause of female suffrag? hrough an intimate examination of their relationships with one another, as well as with those who inspired and challenged them, this book reveals the love, resentments and ruthlessness that stirred these four women into action.Emmeline and her daughters were far from alone in the fight for suffrage, and the contributions of many of the exceptional women and men who supported them are highlighted here.Nevertheless, it is the Pankhurst’s extraordinary journey that lies at the heart of this story. Above all, this is a look into one remarkable family whose struggles and sacrifices ultimately left a lasting mark on history.

The book is an account of the U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment ("3/23"), who were tasked with governing Wasit Province immediately after the Coalition invasion as part of the 1st Marine Division. Then Lt. Col. David Couvillon, was appointed provincial military governor—a position for which he had zero training and preparation.His instructions were simple: "If anything happens, it''s your responsibility." As simple as that order was, it was also very complicated. It’s difficult to grasp the challenge the 3/23 faced after the Coalition’s invasion of Iraq, overseeing a population of over a million people scattered across 6600 sq. miles: the breakdown of normal society, interruption and outright devastation of infrastructure, political and religious schisms, and the collapse of a functioning economy. The province was in shambles. 3/23 had to provide basic security for both military personnel and the populace, while also thwarting insurgency. Couvillon and his men had very little direction—sometimes without sufficient resources.Marines are not trained for long-term occupation. They are trained in first-strike operations. Establishing city councils, creating women''s political parties, holding local elections, creating a functioning police force, instituting a civilian judicial system, instituting a free press and independent TV and radio stations, reopening primary schools, engaging in diplomacy with imams and sheiks, bolstering the regional economy, brokering peace agreements between rival tribes, overseeing trade agreements between towns: none of this is within the purview of the Marines.3/23 strolled the streets of Al Kut and Numaniyah, talking with people, playing with children, and trying to solve the myriad problems of everyday life. Despite being the public face of the American occupation, Lt. Col. Couvillon traveled throughout the province apparently unarmed: no helmet, no armor, no visible weapon. The Marines (and, later, soldiers and sailors) came under attack more than once.Nor was 3/23 completely without fault. There were substantiated instances of excessive force and even the death of innocent civilians. A military occupation is, at best, a necessary evil.But 3/23 came to Wasit, Iraq, not as conquerors, but as allies: friends who wanted to help overthrow, not just a dictator, but Wasit so that its people could experience individual freedom and self-government.From US Marine to Provincial Military Governor in Iraq is the story of how the battalion faced immense and perilous challenges without much in the way of direction from above—Couvillon’s only real guidance came from the Small Wars Manual, a sixty-year-old Marine Corps handbook on low intensity conflicts. It’s about citizen-soldiers-sometimes derided as “weekend warriors ”-who turned their civilian life skills into an assets for their mission. It’s the personal story of Lt. Col. David Couvillon, who in an instant was transformed into a military governor responsible for the welfare not only of his 900 leathernecks, but the approximately 1.5 million inhabitants of an Iraqi province. The narrative doesn’t shrink from criticism of higher-ups who made consequential misjudgments that made the 3/23’s job harder and ultimately undermined its achievements. Understanding the successes of the 3/23 can help prevent future mistakes.

The failure experienced at Gallipoli has become a byword for the misapplication of amphibious operations. In truth, the British experience of joint amphibious operations during the World War was always more than Gallipoli. If success elsewhere seemed elusive, too, then the underlying ability of Britain to execute such operations remains largely undiscussed. The monograph takes the discussion of amphibious operations beyond caricature by examining the genesis and execution of three operations: Tanga, German East Africa; Mesopotamia; and the Dardanelles-Gallipoli campaign and measures the results against the experience and development of amphibious warfare in the immediate prewar period. In short, the work answers the question of the state of British amphibious warfare on the eve of the First World War and the reasons for the failures—and, yes, the successes experienced.British East Africa and Zanzibar stood exposed in 1914, and while doing nothing possessed a certain logic, denying German cruisers the means of resupply mixed with the unsettled temperament of Kenya argued for removing the German threat presented. A tertiary object sought by tertiary British and Indian forces came, saw and was vanquished in short order. As a result, the War Office assumed responsibility for British operations in East Africa from Simla. Though the experience might have served as an object lesson for the campaign about to unfold in Mesopotamia, it did not. There, British arms met with initial success, but soon inadequate means married to unlimited aims told otherwise, culminating in the siege and surrender of the Indian Sixth Division at Kut-al-Amara. In time, the amphibious first entry executed nearly flawlessly became a joint operation anchored on indifferent rivers with memories of the Boxer rebellion and the relief of General Gordon not far removed. Mesopotamia is a reminder that if the enemy gets a vote in war, even more does nature.Beginning as a naval demonstration, the Dardanelles operation morphed into an amphibious landing that never truly became joint when General Sir Hamilton’s forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula. Eight months later, evacuation of the Allied force beckoned. Operationally, the Allies were stymied, yet strategically the campaign offered a rare instance in the World War where the side operating on the offensive inflicted greater losses on the defender. Patience is rarely offered as a principle of war, but maintenance of the aim implies a degree of patience. Collectively, the case studies presented in British Amphibious Operations of the First World War offer a corrective to our understanding of British joint amphibious operations and the lessons digested—and not.

On 1 May 1960, a traditional military parade was held in Moscow. What stood it out from the previous ones, however, was the number of missiles, and in particular the ground-to-air anti-aircraft variants, that were present.There was perhaps nothing surprising in this dominance of missiles, for Nikita Khrushchev had already declared that the so-called Rocket Troops were to be the ‘main branch of the armed forces’. Not for nothing had the Politburo allocated huge sums of money and the best scientific minds to the on-going development of these weapons and units. In fact, there was no fly-past over the Red Square in 1960 as Khrushchev considered aircraft to be a ‘dying species’. From then on, it was being stated, military aviation would be assigned little more than an auxiliary role in the defence of the Soviet Bloc.Khrushchev’s assessment of the future of aircraft was seemingly confirmed by an incident that occurred more than 1,000km to the east of Moscow. For what the spectators and participants of the grand ‘rocket’ parade did not know was, that in one of the key events of the Cold War, an American high altitude reconnaissance Lockheed U-2 jet had, barely hours before, been shot down over the Urals by one of the types of missiles that were passing before them.Based on documents held in the CIA’s archives, declassified documents released by the Russian Ministry of Defence, and the memoirs of participants in the events in question, this book explores the true story of the preparation, implementation, and consequences of the U-2 reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Cuba between 1956 and 1962. For the first time, the author reveals the military plans that were activated in the Eastern Bloc to combat the U-2 missions, and how the Soviets tried unsuccessfully to create a fighter-interceptor to operate in the stratosphere. This book also reveals which secret locations and objects were photographed by the U-2, including those which remained unidentified, and investigates where the secret centre of the Russian atomic project was actually located and whether the U-2 was able to find it. What was the true reliability and value of the information received from America’s U-2 operation? he reader will discover which objects were confiscated from Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the U-2 brought down, following his capture, and why was he had been issued with women’s jewelry and watches before his fateful flight? The Soviet view of the incursions by Powers and his fellow U-2 pilots is laid bare – revealing just why the Powers’ name is as widely known in Russia as that of the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

From their introduction in 1940, the Wehrmacht''s Sturmgeschütz assault guns played an essential role in the campaigns of the Blitzkrieg era, the titanic struggles in Russia and the final defensive battles of the war. Evolving from a mobile bunker-buster, armed with a short-barrelled howitzer, the Sturmgeschütz was up-armoured and up-gunned and by 1943 it was increasingly employed as a tank killer. In 1944, largely as an emergency quick-fix, the Sturmgeschütz IV entered service and over 1,000 examples had been built by the end of the war. As the Wehrmacht’s resources continued to decline the assault guns were thrown into every operation and increasingly substituted for gun tanks in official unit establishments. In the third volume in the TankCraft series to examine the Sturmgeschütz, Dennis Oliver employs official documentation and unit histories to investigate the formations that operated the Sturmgeschütz IV and uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the markings, camouflage and technical aspects of the vehicles that served on the Eastern Front during the last months of the campaign. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.

Alma Mahler, one of the most fascinating and controversial women of the early 20th century, was far more than just the wife of composer Gustav Mahler. A muse, composer, writer, and socialite, she moved in the highest intellectual and artistic circles of her time, inspiring some of the greatest minds of her era. But who was the real Alma behind the myths and scandal? his groundbreaking biography sheds new light on Alma’s life, her ambitions, and her influence on the men she loved – including composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, artist Oskar Kokoschka, and writer Franz Werfel. Drawing from newly uncovered sources and rare historical documents, this book explores her true role in shaping the artistic movements of her time.Featuring unique photographs, letters, and diary excerpts, The Real Alma Mahler: Composer, Socialite, Rebel and Influencer is the first to offer a comprehensive and unbiased portrait of Alma Mahler as a complex, intelligent, and passionate woman who defied the expectations of her era. She was also a rebel and an influencer of her time. It challenges long-held misconceptions and reveals her remarkable resilience and ambition.A must-read for lovers of inspiring women, history, literature, culture and classical music, this book reclaims Alma Mahler’s rightful place in cultural history.

The Welsh at War trilogy is the culmination of over twelve years of painstaking research by the author into the Welsh men and infantry units who fought in the Great War.These units included the four regular regiments – the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, South Wales Borderers Welsh Regiment and Welsh Guards – as well as the Territorial Monmouthshire Regiment, the Yeomanry regiments: the Denbighshire Hussars, Pembroke Yeomanry, Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, Glamorgan Yeomanry and Welsh Horse Yeomanry and their amalgamation into service battalions for the regular regiments during 1917.Welsh troops fought with great courage in every theatre of the war – the Western Front, Aden, China, Gallipoli, Egypt, India, Italy, Salonika and in Palestine – and as well as the casualties who were suffered during these campaigns, many men gained recognition for acts of gallantry.The three volumes, split chronologically, cover all of the major actions and incidents in which each of the Welsh infantry regiments took part, as well as stories of Welsh airmen, Welshmen shot at dawn, Welsh rugby players who fell, Welsh gallantry winners and the Welshmen who died in non-Welsh units, such as the Dominion forces and other units of the British armed forces.While chronicling a history of the war through the events and battles that Welshmen took part in, the stories of many individual casualties are included throughout, together with many compelling photographs of the men and their last resting places.Volume III – ‘Through Mud To Victory’ – ‘Third Ypres And The 1918 Offensives’ – records the stories of the Welsh troops involved in the Third Battle of Ypres, from the Welsh battalions of the 19th (Western) Division at Messines Ridge, through the storming of the Pilckem Ridge by the 38th (Welsh) Division and the Guards Division; and the Welsh troops who fought in the final offensives at Passchendaele Ridge. The actions of Welsh troops during the Battle of Cambrai carry through to the final winter of the war and the volume records the sufferings of Welsh troops fighting during the desperate German ‘Kaiserschlacht’, offensives of the spring of 1918; and carries through the summer of 1918, when the 38th (Welsh) Division moved back to the Somme, to the actions of Welsh troops during the 100 Days Offensive which finally ended the war. The volume also covers the stories of the final battles in Italy, Salonika and Palestine, which saw Welsh troops play a large part.

This guide, How to Survive in Ration-Book Britain, will help the time-traveller who journeys back to mid-twentieth century Britain. From 1939 to 1945, the country is involved in World War Two and even after victory is achieved, Britain is cash-strapped and years of austerity follow. Throughout, food, clothing, fuel, furniture and items we take for granted today are rationed and people are scrimping, scraping and using their imagination just to get by.As cities and towns are bombed, lives lost and homes destroyed, men are called to serve the country, children are evacuated and women are expected to ‘do their bit’ on the ‘Home Front’, maintaining the house as a place of welcome, boosting morale and stretching meagre food allowances to keep everyone fed and fit. This is no easy life yet people find lighter moments and ‘carry on carrying on’. Whatever the disaster, somebody will find a way to make tea. The English ‘cuppa’ is the answer to almost every problem. You have to admire their spirit.Enjoy the experience as this book helps you to survive the hazards and live life to the full in Ration-Book Britain.

In 1441, Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester, was convicted of trying to bring about King Henry VI`s death through witchcraft. Her defence was that she had simply tried to become pregnant with the help of a well-known wise woman, using sorcery only for this aim.While one of the most widely publicised cases of such a fertility treatment, it was certainly not the only one in the Middle Ages. In fact, due to the lack of knowledge surrounding not only fertility but also pregnancies and birth, there was a flourishing market offering spiritual and secular aids.This book provides a history of the concerns and the common problems for women struggling with fertility problems, being pregnant and giving birth, and looks especially at the religious and societal ramifications of these issues.

At the end of July, Operation ''Cobra'' broke through the German defences and the American leaders rushed through Coutances and Avranches, and took the Pontaubault bridge on the 31st. On August 1, the VIII Corps had three crossing sites over the Sée River and four over the Sélune, the routes to enter Brittany were open.That day, as the 4th Armored Division thrust from Pontaubault toward Rennes, Lieutenant Georges S. Patton''s Third US Army became operational.To secure Brittany, Patton''s plan was to unleash armoured columns in the peninsula, the 4th Armored Division to drive through Rennes to Quiberon, and the 6th Armored Division to rush all the way to Brest. A third column, Task Force A, was to secure the vital railroad that ran along the north shore.The 4th Armored Division reached Nantes on August 6, to find the port facilities in ruins. On the northern shore of the peninsula, Task Force A encountered fierce resistance at Saint-Malo. While the task force continued westwards, the 83rd Division took on the siege and it took four weeks of repeated attacks, and the engagement of strong artillery forces and several heavy air raids, to obtain the surrender of the German fortress.The Americans faced a similar dogged defence at Brest and it took six weeks of fighting to obtain the surrender of Generalleutnant Hermann Ramcke on September 19. The Americans lost 10,000 killed and wounded in the battle, but Brest, as well as its harbour facilities, were destroyed.On September 13, after the extent of the reconstruction and works necessary to rehabilitate the harbour had been looked at, it was decided to abandon all repair work there. The serious Allied problem of port capacity persisted until November, when the Antwerp facilities became available.The charge was later made that the employment of three divisions and valuable transports and supplies to defeat the German garrison at Brest but the resources used there, quite small when compared to the total effort, could hardly have altered the pattern of the quick advance eastwards.

The three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage (264-241, 218-201 and 149-146) were among the most significant and bitterly contested wars of the Classical period. The second war famously pitted the Romans against the genius of Hannibal Barca, whose invasion of Italy brought Rome to the brink of destruction, until the equal genius of Scipio Africanus proved his nemesis. Ultimately it was Carthage that was destroyed and Rome went on to dominate the Mediterranean region.Philip Matyszak studies over twenty battles from these epic conflicts, including some of the most famous battles in history, such as Cannae (216 BC) and Zama (201 BC), including naval battles as well as sieges and field battles. Thoroughly researched but written in a lively narrative style, each account gives the strategic context of the battle, analyses the forces involved, their deployments and the course of the fighting before considering its aftermath. Dozens of clear tactical maps make the action easy to follow.

An original work of social history focusing on numerous fascinating aspects of life in an English town in the late Middle Ages.Welcome to a world which ordered people not to leave their homes after nightfall and not to let their pigs wander the streets, where butchers who sold bad meat to the public were locked into a pillory with the meat burning beneath them, and where dirt heaps, common scolds, and attempts to cure diseases with dead animal flesh were a normal part of life. Were medieval towns really as filthy as we might think? If not, how did people wash themselves and their clothes? What did being drawn on the hurdle mean? What did people eat, and where did they buy it? What happened to criminals? Did women work outside the home, and if so, in which professions? What were people’s houses like? How did they entertain themselves? How much did they earn, and how much did things cost? What kind of medical treatment was available? Did people travel to other towns, and if so, how did they get there?

The Munitionettes focuses on the lives of a special group of women and girls in the lead-up to and during the First World War. It is, in part, the social history of the hundreds of thousands of forgotten heroines who also became known as the Canary Girls and endeavours to highlight these women’s essential input in support of the armed forces during the First World War, which has largely been overlooked.Here, you will find descriptions of the experiences of young women in the specifically built munition factories in their own words as they speak to us from history. It looks at working practices and the place of women in society, all of which are utterly alien in today’s world. The book focuses on the many hardships, sacrifices, injuries and the kind of working conditions these women endured against a background of prejudice and suspicion in this truly male-dominated world. It illustrates that even without encouragement and very little support from society in general, the women gave of themselves for their country.The book also shows how women workers gained respect for themselves for a brief period after the First World War; however short-lived this period was, it was the beginning of change for all women.