Эта книга - итог 10-летней работы по переосмыслению советского прошлого, решительная ревизия военных мифов, унаследованных от сталинского агитпропа, бескомпромиссная полемика с историческим официозом. Это - горькая правда о кровавом 1945-м, который был не только годом Победы, но и БЕДЫ - недаром многие события последних месяцев войны до сих пор обходят молчанием, архивы так и не рассекречены до конца, а самые горькие, "неудобные" и болезненные вопросы по сей день остаются без ответов. Когда на самом деле закончилась Великая Отечественная война? Почему Берлин не был взят в феврале 1945 года и пришлось штурмовать его в апреле? Кто в действительности брал Рейхстаг и поднял Знамя Победы? Оправданны ли огромные потери советских танков, брошенных в кровавый хаос уличных боев, и правда ли, что в Берлине сгорела не одна танковая армия? Кого и как освобождали советские войска в Европе? Какова подлинная цена Победы? И кто на самом деле победил во Второй Мировой войне? Эта книга завершает 5-томную историю Великой Отечественной войны от Владимира Бешанова.

Эта необычная книга является своеобразной энциклопедией русской военной истории за 300 лет, с XVII века до 1917 года. В 450 статьях-миниатюрах словаря описываются амуниция, военная форма, эмблемы воинских подразделений Русской армии. Тексты статей посвящены самым важным и увлекательным эпизодам истории Российской империи от Петра Великого до Николая II. В книге также описаны история создания того или иного военного атрибута, исторические курьезы, с ними связанные, представлена история возникновения регулярных полков Русской армии, а также отличия разных видов войск друг от друга. Издание проиллюстрировано рисунками, выполненными самим автором.

"Рейзен" был для меня все равно, нто меч для самурая. Я ощущал его как собственное тело," - так писал один из японских пилотов о самом известном японском самолете второй мировой войны. Hачиная с Перл-Харбора до последних боев по отражению налетов на Японию американских В-29, истребитель Мицубиси А6М Рейзеи (сокращенно от "Рейсики зентоки" - "Истребитель ноль") участвовал практически во всех воздушных сражениях, проводимых императорским флотом. Его отличная маневренность и высокая дальность полета стали почти легендой, и до сего дня "Зеро" остается символом японской авиации. Его мировая слава была завоевана в первых боях на Тихом океане, когда в течение шести месяцев он не знал серьезного отпора. Hо в ходе войны японцы не сумели обеспечить ему достойной замены - истребителя, способного превзойти противника по скорости, вооружению и живучести. И, начиная с конца 1942 г, нести свой крест боев для А6М было все тяжелей. Hесмотря на то, что после 1943 г истребитель уже явно устарел, японцы продолжали выпускать его до конца войны. В результате "Рейзен" стал самым массовым японским самолетом.

The story of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is well known: the expansionist Communists overwhelmed a poor country as a means of reaching a warm-water port on the Persian Gulf. Afghan mujahideen upset their plans, holding on with little more than natural fighting skills, until CIA agents came to the rescue with American arms. Humiliated in battle, the Soviets hastily retreated. It is a great story-but it never happened. In this brilliant, myth-busting account, Rodric Braithwaite, the former British ambassador to Moscow, challenges much of what we know about the Soviets in Afghanistan. He provides an inside look at this little-understood episode, using first-hand accounts and piercing analysis to show the war as it was fought and experienced by the Russians. The invasion was a defensive response to a chaotic situation in the Soviets' immediate neighbor. They intended to establish a stable, friendly government, secure the major towns, and train the police and armed forces before making a rapid exit. But the mission escalated, as did casualties. Braithwaite does not paint the occupation as a Russian triumph. To the contrary, he illustrates the searing effect of the brutal conflict on soldiers, their families, and the broader public, as returning veterans struggled to regain their footing back home. Now available in paperback, Braithwaite carries readers through these complex and momentous events, capturing those violent and tragic days as no one has done before.

Formidable and sophisticated, triremes were the deadliest battleship of the ancient world, and at the height of their success, the Athenians were the dominant exponents of their devastating power. Primarily longships designed to fight under oar power, the trireme was built for lightness and strength; ship-timber was mostly softwoods such as poplar, pine and fir, while the oars and mast were made out of fir. Their main weapon was a bronze-plated ram situated at the prow. From the combined Greek naval victory at Salamis (480 BC), through the Peloponnesian War, and up until the terrible defeat by the Macedonians at Amorgos, the Athenian trireme was an object of dread to its enemies. This book offers a complete analysis and insight into the most potent battleship of its time; the weapon by which Athens achieved, maintained, and ultimately lost its power and prosperity.

Besides continuing a long history of world-wide peacekeeping, the commitment of US troops to the Gulf reunified the country and restored a national pride lost in the aftermath of Vietnam. It also proved that the US armed forces were again the most capable military force in the world. This volume by veteran Osprey author Gordon L. Rottman focuses on the structure, equipment, effectiveness, and employment of the 680,000 coalition troops which fought in the Gulf War, covering not only the US forces, but also those of Britain, France, the Arab League and Iraq.

The text for this Atlas Of World War II, first published by Bison Books Ltd., of London in 1985, and compiled by Richard Natkiel, comes from Robin L. Sommer, a prolific writer whose other wildly divergent efforts include The Little Book Of Cats: Poems And Prose, On Fifth Avenue: Highlights Of Architectural And Cultural History, and Pablo Picasso, while the 4-page Introduction is contributed by S. L. Mayer, whose works include Signal- Hitler's Wartime Picture Magazine, The Biography Of General Of The Army Douglas MacArthur, and Weapons Of The Gulf War.

The southerner of the mid-19th century had been bred to ride horses. In addition the period southerner had long been used to handling firearms, through hunting for pleasure, food or simply for sport. The combination of these factors promised that when the southern states began to secede in December 1860, the cavalry would be a major combat arm. This title looks at how the men of the Confederate cavalry were recruited, trained, lived and fought. Both routine and campaign life are covered, as well as the weapons and equipment that served them in their combat roles. Key encounters such as the 1863 clash at Brandy Station are also covered in this authoritative text.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, conl ict in the former USSR has been a key concern in international security. This book i lls a gap in the literature on violent conl ict, evaluating a region that contains all the modern ingredients for instability and aggression. Bringing together leading experts on war and security, the book addresses current debates in international relations about power, interests, globalisation and the politics of identity as major drivers of contemporary war. Incidents such as the 2008 Russo-Georgian conl ict, the wars in Chechnya, and Russia’s struggles over national identity and resources with former communist states are all thoroughly examined. With new issues like energy security, terrorism and transnational crime, and older tensions between East and West threatening to deepen once more, this is an important contribution to the international security literature.

Contemporary Peace Making draws on recent experience to identify and explore the essential components of peace processes. Each chapter examines a different element in recent peace processes. The collection is organized around five main themes: planning for peace during periods of violence, the process of negotiations (including pre-negotiation), the effects of violence on peace processes, peace accords—constitutional and political options—and securing the settlement and building the peace

Cooperating for Peace and Security is a comprehensive survey of multilateral security cooperation since 1989. With essays by leading experts on topics from peacekeeping to nuclear security, it goes beyond theoretical discussions of the value of cooperation to show how the operational activities of international organizations meet the security needs of states. In particular, it explores the complex relationship between multilateralism and American security concerns. Covering the UN, NATO, and regional organizations, the authors show that U.S. interests have often shaped institutions. But, more strikingly, other states have also driven institutional change without U.S. support or even in the face of American opposition. This raises important questions about how the balance of power shapes international institutions. In a period of shifting power dynamics, the empirical evidence on security cooperation gathered in this volume is a unique resource for scholars and policy-makers concerned with the future of international institutions.

This book addresses an important but little-noticed phenomenon in the revolutionary world of military technology. Across a wide range of otherwise-unrelated weapons programs, the Pentagon is now pursuing arms that are deliberately crafted to be less powerful, less deadly, and less destructive than the systems they are designed to supplement or replace. This direction is historically anomalous; military forces generally pursue ever-bigger bangs, but the modern conditions of counter-insurgency warfare and military operations "other than war" (such as peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance) demand a military capable of modulated force. By providing a capacity to intervene deftly yet effectively, the new generations of "useable" weaponry should enable the U.S. military to accomplish its demanding missions in a manner consistent with legal obligations, public relations realities, and political constraints. Five case studies are provided, regarding precision-guided "smart bombs," low-yield nuclear weapons, self-neutralizing anti-personnel land mines, directed-energy anti-satellite weapons, and non-lethal weapons.

Книга французького військового інженера Гійома Левассера де Боплана «Опис України» — цінне історичне джерело для вивчення побуту запорозького козацтва і селянства, а також інших станів середньовічного суспільства України. В ній відображені географічне середовище, природа України, її кліматичні умови, наведені дані з історії заселення Середньої Наддніпрянщини, змальована яскрава картина життя українського народу першої половини XVII ст.

On July 4, 1991, the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, the most powerful surface combatants in naval history, was commissioned. It was the culmination of a century-and-a-half evolution of the destroyer-an evolution captured in this vivid and timely history of the world's most popular warship.

Das vorliegende Deutsch-ukrainische und Ukrainischdeutsche Fliegerorterbuch ist das erste аиі diesem Gebiet. Ев erganzt die wertyolle Reihe y()Jl ukrainischen terminologischen Worterbiichern (wie z. В. chemisches, mathematisches, astronomisches, geologisches, technisches, iuristisches, politisches и. а.), die nach dem Weltkriege 1914-1918 durch die Ukrainische Akademie der vVissenschaften in КУііУ herausgegeben ,yurden. Der deutsche ТеіІ des Wer'kes stiitzt sich auf zahlreiche deutsche Fliegerliteratur, der ukrainische аиІ das "Russisch- ukrainische Militarworterbucll" уоп 8. и. О. Jakubski) (Ukrainischer 8taatsyerlag 1928) sowie аиІ das "Deutsche und ukrainische Militarworterbuch" уоп Ilnytzkyj-Zankowytsch) (Berlin, Bernard & Graefe, 1939).