Pen & Sword Books Ltd strana 4 z 40

Although also known as the Third English Civil War, the author makes it clear that this was the last war between the Scots and English as separate states. He narrates in detail the the events following the exiled King Charles II’s landing in Scotland and his alliance with the Scots Covenanters, erstwhile allies of the English Parliamentarians. Cromwell’s preemptive invasion of Scotland led to the Battle of Dunbar, a crushing defeat for the Scots under David Leslie, though this only unified the Scottish cause and led to the levying of the Army of the Kingdom under Charles II himself. Charles II led a desperate counter-invasion over the border, hoping to raise a royalist rebellion and forcing Cromwell to follow him, though he left Monck to complete the pacification of Scotland. Cromwell caught up with Charles II at Worcester, where the Scots/Royalist army was decisively defeated and destroyed, thousands of the prisoners being sold into slavery in the West Indies and the American colonies. This revised and updated edition contains an expanded chapter on the aftermath of the war and the fate of the POWs, drawing on major new archaeological evidence, as well as an expanded Conclusion.

On 16 October 1946 Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s wartime Foreign Minister, was executed at Nuremberg, convicted on four counts including deliberately planning a war of aggression and war crimes. In this first English language edition of his memoirs, Rudolf von Ribbentrop frankly describes his relationship with his father when he was the German Ambassador in London and during the war years. Von Ribbentrop was an often isolated figure among the Nazi elite. In his final report from London he informed Hitler that he was convinced that Great Britain would fight for its position in the world. He went on to play a key role forging the short-lived Pact with Stalin’s Soviet Union. Far from being uncritical, Rudolf von Ribbentrop, in his 90s when the book was written, sets out to paint an objective picture of his father’s role. His unique position throws fascinating light on the unfolding dramatic events leading up to, and then the execution of, the Second World War. While the author briefly describes his personal experiences including his war service with the SS, it is the insight this work provides into top level decision-making at the heart of the Third Reich that will appeal most to both historians and laymen.

The American Revolution was one of the events which shaped the modern world. It has been celebrated as a struggle for liberty and the origin of the growth of the US as a great world power. Without underplaying the achievements of the Revolution, this book takes a critical look at the myths and legends that grew up about this key event. It also gives a voice to those who suffered from opposing the Revolution and whose stories are not always remembered. It investigates the nature of what was fundamentally a civil war and looks closely at whether the ideals of the Revolution were a reality for all those caught up in what was a deadly and violent conflict. It challenges the reputation of some leading figures and the usual way that dramatic events have been portrayed, and takes a hard look at some accepted ideas about the colonial past. As well as explaining the causes and course of the war of independence, the book considers its impact on different groups, including women, Black Americans and native Americans. There are some surprising and sometimes disturbing events here, but these add to a picture of a vibrant and exciting period of history.

As Anthony Tucker-Jones shows in this highly illustrated, wide-ranging history, for most of the Cold War the tank retained its pre-eminence on the battlefield. The Arab-Israeli wars witnessed some of the biggest tank battles of all time, and tanks played key roles in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan as well as in the Iran-Iraq War and the wars fought between India and Pakistan. But then in the mid-1960s anti-tank weapons became ever deadlier and the Mechanised Infantry Fighting Vehicle (MIFV), which was designed to support infantry and fight tanks, emerged and the heyday of the tank was over.Chapters cover each major phase in the evolution of the tank and of tank warfare during the period, from the battles fought in the late 1940s and 1950s with Second World War armoured vehicles like the T-34 and the Sherman, through to the designs common in the 1960s and 1970s like the T-55, Centurion, Challenger and M60 Patton, to the confrontation between the M1 Abrams and the T-72 during the Gulf War in 1991. Technical and design developments are important elements throughout the story, but so are dramatic changes in tactics and armaments which mean the tank has an increasingly uncertain role in modern warfare.

This book explores the remarkable careers of George, Henry and John Lawrence and Robert Montgomery (Field Marshall Montgomery of Alamein's grandfather) who served in the East India Company during the first half of the nineteenth century. From modest backgrounds in the north of Ireland, all four men would assume leading roles in the colonial administration of India. After initial training in England and in Calcutta, they served their apprenticeships in the Delhi Territory and in the North-Western Provinces (modern day Uttar Pradesh) as military officers (George and Henry) and Collectors (of revenue) and District Magistrates (John and Robert). Henry would later make the move from military to civilian employment when he became a land revenue surveyor. As this book reveals, these years were incredibly important in the formation of their administrative style. Ruling large swathes of northern India in paternal fashion, John and Robert became highly knowledgeable on local agrarian affairs. Likewise, Henry’s role as a revenue surveyor gave him a worm’s eye view of village life that was far removed from the cloistered environment of the military cantonment. Such experiences would cultivate an ethos of respecting local culture and institutions while exercising a high standard of public service and personal devotion to duty. The book assesses the Lawrences and Montgomery’s efforts in the challenging fields of land revenue surveying and assessment, as well as their campaigns against female infanticide, thuggee and other forms of criminality. Beyond India, the part played by George and Henry in the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War is followed in detail, while the latter’s time as British Resident at the Court of Nepal explores his passion for writing on important Anglo-Indian topics. This study will argue that the knowledge and skills developed by this talented quartet of Irishmen provided the crucial foundations for their later careers in the Punjab and beyond.

Saab has gone, but its cars and its loyal band of owners remain. In this photographic album, internationally known Saab author and commentator Lance Cole celebrates all things Saab. In a collection of over 200 photographic images accompanied by a detailed yet engaging commentary, the book delivers a record of Saab from its first car to its last. The engineering, design, and ethos of Saab's cars across the generations are captured in all their glory. The author of many Saab articles and several Saab books, this is Lance Cole’s new view on Sweden's other car maker – one that really did build cars to a different standard. Saab Celebration is designed to be a memorial companion for the Saab fan. If you like Saabs, then enjoy this tribute to all things Saab.

Discover the men, women, and children who called the Roman province of Britannia home through the most final ? and often only ? evidence they left behind: their tombstones. What can we learn from these lasting monuments to the dead? This book brings together a selection of surviving tombstones from Roman Britain for the first time in an easy-to-access collection, accompanied by useful contextual information on ancient burial practices, funerary symbolism, and afterlife beliefs. Explore the lives and deaths of people from every walk of life who came from all over the vast Roman Empire: from the devoted wives and playful children living along Hadrian's Wall, to the experienced soldiers stationed at forts across the province, and even the enslaved as they are commemorated for all eternity on these ancient inscribed stones. New clear translations of the inscriptions introduce these memorials to modern readers, and a handy guide at the end also equips readers with the tools for decoding common Latin funerary abbreviations for themselves. Each tombstone is accompanied by background information on the deceased, while accompanying illustrations and photographs of the tombstones bring these ancients back to life. AUTHOR: Dr Stephanie Holton is Staff Tutor and Lecturer in Classical Studies at the Open University. Her teaching and research explore ancient ideas about death, the body, and the soul across the Greek and Roman worlds. She was previously Senior Lecturer in Classics at Newcastle University, where she led several outreach projects based on ancient languages including the award-winning 'Romans on the Tyne' for schools in the North East. She is dedicated to making the ancient world accessible to modern audiences of all ages and frequently collaborates with museums, schools, and charities on a wide variety of projects. 30 b/w illustrations

The four volumes of The Complete Medal of Honor present the full citations of the 3,537 awards granted to 3,517 men (nineteen were double recipients) and one woman between the start of the Civil War in 1861 and the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021. This second volume covers the six and a half decades between the end of the Civil War and America's entry into World War Two. In that period the Medal of Honor was awarded to US combatants and non-combatants for conspicuous bravery in a series of small wars—some lasting a matter of weeks like the Korean Expedition of 1871, others drawn over decades like the Indian Wars of 1861–98—and some much larger conflicts like World War One. The full citation for every recipient of the USA's highest award for bravery during that period is listed here.

The vast majority of Britain’s railways were built between 1825 and 1900. By the turn of the nineteenth/twentieth century, over one-hundred different railway companies were operating in Britain on more than 22,000 miles of railway track. Although these new railways brought prosperity to the nation, and enabled goods and passengers to be speedily transported the length and breadth of the country for the first time, this remarkable feat of engineering brought with it some unwelcome side-effects, one of which was crime. A vast number of passengers travel on Britain’s railway network each day, and unfortunately, a considerable amount of crime does occur on our railways. The types of crime committed on Britain’s railways varies considerably from petty or minor crime, to more serious crimes. Most people would consider that the crimes of “murder” and “attempted murder” are amongst the most serious crimes committed in our country, irrespective of where these appalling acts take place. A substantial number of murders and attempted murders have taken place on the railway network of Britain, during its two-hundred years of operation, and details surrounding the vast majority of these cases are revealed in this book, some for the first time. The author has spent many months of research, mainly through old newspaper archives, in order to obtain establish and publish historical information about murders committed on Britain’s railways, many of which have been long forgotten, or lost in the annals of time.

No other twentieth-century political figure endured so many precipitous falls followed by unlikely resurrection. Across fifty turbulent years he enjoyed – if that is the correct term - at least four separate, high-level, political careers interspersed with periods in the doldrums. As one of his numerous enemies and detractors, of whom there was never a shortage, was to write: Winston is never down, or rather will never allow that he is down.’Whilst much has been written about Churchill at the Admiralty, and even more concerning his wartime premiership, the ups and downs in-between have received somewhat less attention. Hence this volume, which seeks to tell the tale of the period beginning with him being unceremoniously sacked in 1915. As Lloyd George’s mistress and confidante wrote: ‘It seems strange that Churchill should have been in politics all these years, & yet not have won the confidence of a single party in the country, or a single colleague in the Cabinet.’She was mistaken. One politician still valued Churchill’s gifts: the Prime Minister from 1916, David Lloyd George himself. But he had to act cautiously. Only in July 1917, during a broader reshuffle, did he dare risk appointing Churchill as Minister of Munitions. This was a courageous move. As one Tory grandee put it: ‘some of us myself included only joined L[loyd] G[eorge] on the distinct understanding that W[inston] Ch[urchill] was not to be a member of the Gov[ernmen]t.’Lloyd George got away with it however, and few would dispute that his judgement was vindicated. As the man responsible for providing the British and wider Allied cause with the munitions of war, a vast undertaking by any standards, Churchill proved both competent and effective. Indeed, he was still in post at the end of the conflict in 1918, which is where this book ends.

On 3 September 1650 Oliver Cromwell won a decisive victory over the Scottish Covenanters at the Battle of Dunbar – a victory that is often regarded as his finest hour – but the aftermath, the forced march of 5,000 prisoners from the battlefield to Durham, was one of the cruellest episodes in his career.The march took them seven days, without food and with little water, no medical care, the property of a ruthless regime determined to eradicate any possibility of further threat. Those who survived long enough to reach Durham found no refuge, only pestilence and despair. Exhausted, starving and dreadfully weakened, perhaps as many as 1,700 died from typhus and dysentery. Those who survived were condemned to hard labour and enforced exile in conditions of virtual slavery in a harsh new world across the Atlantic.Cromwell''s Convicts describes their ordeal in detail and, by using archaeological evidence, brings the story right up to date. John Sadler and Rosie Serdiville describe the battle at Dunbar, but their main focus is on the lethal week-long march of the captives that followed. They make extensive use of archive material, retrace the route taken by the prisoners and describe the recent archaeological excavations in Durham which have identified some of the victims and given us a graphic reminder of their fate.

Many aspire to serve with the Special Air Service, arguably the world’s most prestigious regiment, but few achieve their aim. In this inspiring memoir the author describes how he left school without any qualifications and embarked on a 30 year career much of it spent in Hereford, including four years in ‘The Regiment’. Against the odds he rose through the ranks before being commissioned and eventually retiring as a Major. Initially attached to 22 SAS as a signaller, he volunteered for and passed ‘Selection’, the most gruelling and demanding of tests. He was posted to D Squadron Boat Troop with whom he saw active service in the Falklands War, Northern Ireland and the UK counter-terrorist team. Thanks to the diary he kept during the Falklands War, the reader is treated to a gripping first-hand account of the intense action that he and his colleagues experienced, including recces, diversionary attacks, raids and ambushes both on South Georgia and the Falklands Islands. Later he commanded the Royal Signals troop supporting D Squadron, 22 SAS before commissioning and later on pursuing a second career as a security consultant in various Middle Eastern hotspots. It is a privilege to read this commendably modest account of one man’s unique career which provides a fascinating insight into elite special forces soldiering.

Trent Park’s fascinating story is told for the first time in one dramatic narrative, with the spotlight on its key 20th century ‘lives’ and the stand-out characters and unsung heroines who played on its stage. An inter-war salon and playground for the titled, rich and powerful, overseen by millionaire, politician and socialite Sir Philip Sassoon; a wartime prison camp with a covert mission rivalling Bletchley Park in importance for the Allied war effort; and an urgent new peacetime purpose involving generations of young people. We meet the woman who lived through all three. With a century and more of rich history, Trent Park is an important part of our national story. Its secrets, held close for decades, are now brought into the light.

The Civil Wars of the seventeenth century had a devastating effect upon Wales and the Marches, stripping the country of its human resources and ruining whole communities. This book explores the years of conflict between 1642 and 1649, detailing the campaigns, sieges and battles which took place in every corner of the country, presenting information from a wide variety of sources to paint a wide-ranging picture of the nation at a significant turning point in its history.

The Peninsular War and the Napoleonic Wars across Europe are subjects of such enduring interest that they have prompted extensive research and writing. Yet other campaigns, in what was a global war, have been largely ignored. Such is the case for the war in India which persisted for much of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods and peaked in the years 1798-1805 with the campaigns of Arthur Wellesley – later the Duke of Wellington – and General Lake in the Deccan and Hindustan. That is why this new study by Martin Howard is so timely and important. While it fully acknowledges Wellington’s vital role, it also addresses the nature of the warring armies, the significance of the campaigns of Lake in North India, and leaves the reader with an understanding of the human experience of war in the region. For this was a brutal conflict in which British armies clashed with the formidable forces of the Sultan of Mysore and the Maratha princes. There were dramatic pitched battles at Assaye, Argaum, Delhi and Laswari, and epic sieges at Seringapatam, Gawilghur and Bhurtpore. The British success was not universal.

Why did a long time reluctant US President Wilson finally enter World War I on the side of the Allies in April 1917?In retaliation of the British naval blockade of Germany since August 1914, the German Admirals determined at the beginning of 1915 to create a counter-blockade of the British Isles with their submarines. The U-boat commanders got – without knowledge of the government - a secret order to sink Allied passenger liners. The British Admiralty discovered the hunt for passenger liners by deciphering W/T messages to the U-boats. The sinking of the Lusitania on May, 6th, 1915, was no coincidence – the Royal Navy knew about the intentions of the U-boats and, after doing everything to protect the passenger liners in the beginning, they simply left the Lusitania alone in in the first week of May, to create frictions between America and the German Empire. A diplomatic quarrel between US President Wilson and Germany about U-boat warfare commenced. In spring of 1916 the German Navy acted again against the instructions of the Kaiser and ordered secretly the sinking of allied and neutral vessels in the British Channel, thereby opening an unrestricted U-boat war. When the channel ferry Sussex was attacked, Wilson threatened to break off of diplomatic relations with Germany. Under massive diplomatic pressure the German government had to give in. Further on, their U-boats only conducted a “soft”, restricted warfare, following the internationally agreed maritime rules and tolerated by Wilson. In Germany a heated debate set in after the Sussex case. The Navy promised the quick defeat of England by unrestricted U-boat war, and the Army joined this campaign end of 1916. The intention of the “war party” was to rule out any possibility of a negotiated peace and to set the German Empire on a – risky - course for definitive victory. But the government doubted the Navy’s capability for all-out U-boat warfare and argued that the only definitive result would be an America siding the Allies, leading to ultimate defeat. In the last months of 1916 it sent out peace feelers to Wilson, warning him, that in the case of a failure of his peace mediation they would get under unbearable pressure of the “military opposition” to begin unrestricted U-boat war again. At this time Britain was – like Germany – economically with its back against the wall: it suffered terribly by the sinking of its merchant ships, the moral of its Admiralty in Anti-Submarine-Warfare had completely broken down. Collapse was threatening. But the British government got wind of the conflicts inside Germany by the deciphering of the diplomatic cables between Wilson and the Germans. The new Prime Minster, David Lloyd George, chose a risky strategy – by rebuffing all American peace efforts he wanted to encourage the radical party in Germany to enforce total U-boat war. Finally this British strategy payed out: German Navy and Army pressed the Kaiser to declare unrestricted U-boat war from 1st of February 1917 on, and Wilson broke off diplomatic relations. But he still bristled to enter the war on Allied side – as long as American ships would be treated correctly by the Germans, he wouldn’t come in, not even after the publication of the Zimmermann-telegram. The tipping point came in the middle of March, when U-boats torpedoed American vessels without warning. This forced the American Declaration of War against the German Empire on April 6, 1917.