For many people the epitome of the British soldier of the late Victorian period is the Redcoat who fought in southern Africa in the 1870s. This title covers the key period of the wars against the Zulu and Boers; the dramatic battles of Rorke's Drift, Isandlwana, Ulundi, Laing's Nek and Majuba are some of the most famous engagements in the history of the British Army. The journey of the British soldier from the back streets of Britain's inner cities, to the isolated rock outcrop of Isandlwana and the mountain top of Majuba is one of discipline, devotion, loyalty, bravery, determination and sheer hard-work. It is a journey from which many men never returned.

This revised edition of Mike Chappell's original Men-at-Arms 138 represents nearly 20 years' new research. It covers the saddlery, horse furniture, and personal equipment of the British horsed cavalryman from the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars until the final disappearance of the mounted arm during World War II. Such details are essential for an understanding of how cavalry fought in the 19th and early 20th centuries, since the design of equipment was intimately connected with cavalry tactics in any particular period. Students of campaign history, and particularly modellers, will find here a mass of specific information, illustrated with photographs, diagrams, drawings and full colour plates.

When the Soviet Union pulled its forces out of Afghanistan, the American media had a simple explanation: Soviet troops had been hounded out of the mountains by U.S.-armed guerrillas--the skies cleared of Soviet aircraft by Stinger missiles--until the Kremlin was forced to cry uncle. But Diego Cordovez and Selig S. Harrison shatter this image. Out of Afghanistan shows that the Red Army was securely entrenched when the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw: American weaponry and Afghan bravery raised the costs for Moscow, but it was six years of skillful diplomacy that gave the Russians a way out. Cordovez and Harrison provide the definitive account of the Soviet blunders that led up to the invasion and the bitter struggles over the withdrawal that raged in the Soviet and Afghan Communist parties and the Reagan Administration. The authors are particularly well-suited to their task: Cordovez was the United Nations mediator who negotiated the Soviet pullout, and Harrison is a leading South Asia expert with four decades of experience in covering Afghanistan. Their story of the U.N. negotiations is interwoven with a gripping chronicle of the war years, complete with palace shootouts in Kabul, turf warfare between rival Soviet intelligence agencies, and the CIA role in building up Islamic fundamentalist guerrilla leaders at the expense of Afghan moderates. Cordovez opens up his diaries to take us behind the scenes in his negotiations, and Harrison draws on interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, former Secretary of State George Shultz, and other key actors. The result is a book full of surprises. For example, the authors demonstrate that the Soviets intervened not out of a desire to drive to the Indian Ocean, but out of a fear of a U.S.-supported Afghan Tito. Rebuffs by hardline "bleeders" in the Reagan Administration undermined efforts by Yuri Andropov to secure a settlement before his death in 1983. Even more startling, Gorbachev resumed the search for a negotiated withdrawal more than a year before the first American-supplied Stinger missiles were deployed in the war. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was one of the pivotal events of recent history. Out of Afghanistan destroys many of the myths surrounding the Afghan war and will have a profound impact on the emerging debate over how and why the Cold War ended.

This title draws on contemporary testimonies of life in Napoleon's army, documenting the reality of conscription, training, camp life and combat action for the common infantry soldier. In contrast to most works on this period, it calls into question the propagandist views expounded by numerous Bonapartists - the romantic notion of La Gloire is very much tempered by some hard-hitting recollections of the horror and misery of military life 200 years ago. Packed with prints taken from contemporary sources and superb colour illustrations, it provides a concise, revealing and authentic portrait of life in the Grand Armee.

This book concentrates on the dramatic experiences of Napoleon's Army of the Orient in Egypt and the Holy Land. The fighting of the Mamelukes and Turks are covered in depth, detailing desert combat, siege warfare, cavalry skirmishes and the suppression of uprisings. It examines the French treatment of prisoners as well as the fate of captured Frenchmen, and describes caring for the wounded, outbreaks of bubonic plague, and the terrible retreat from Acre in 1799, in accounts by the men who were there. The experiences of infantry, cavalry and sea soldiers of Napoleon's Army of the Orient are brought vividly back to life.

In a series of chronological chapters, Submarines describes key developments in diving ability, underwater endurance, and weapons capabilities in specific periods, while highlighting strategic and operational innovations; the role of technological research; famous submarine events, battles, and commanders; and the impact of submarine services on naval society. The book also includes an illustrated reference section covering every submarine class worldwide since 1900. This coverage plus additional reference features make Submarines an essential introduction to a weapons system that has long held the public's imagination.

From its origins to its terrible legacy, the tortuous course of the Great War is vividly set out in a series of 174 fascinating maps. Together the maps form a comprehensive and compelling picture of the war that shattered Europe, and illustrate its military, social, political and economic aspects.

The 13th century was a time of change for knights in England. They were faced with rising costs and increasing demands on their time for local government because of their very status in society, until knighthood itself was sometimes avoided. This period saw as well the development of the tournament from the wild team events of the early years of the century to the single jousts with blunt lance. Campaign life in the 13th century also embraced several theatres of war including the baronial revolt against King John, the Barons' Wars of Simon de Montfort, and the Welsh and Scottish wars of Edward I. This title also covers the use and development of arms, armour, costume and other equipment.

The Ancient Greeks - who believed that war is the most important thing humans do--bequeathed to the West an incomparable military legacy that still influences the structure of armies and doctrine. Understand the reasons why their unique approach to fighting was so successful and so relentless, its role at the heart of classical culture, the rise of the city state, agrarian duels, the emergence of Athenian and Spartan power, the development of war as a specialized science, and the collapse of Greek warfare after Alexander the Great.

The rifle corps of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars are among the most recognisable of all the soldiers of that era: their distinctive dark green uniforms are as familiar as some of their exploits. They have achieved considerable fame through the large numbers of memoirs written by members of the rifle corps as well as through modern fiction, most notably the Sharpe series. Apart from their reputation as a corps d'elite, the riflemen were, in their time, at the very cutting edge of military technology and tactical theory. Philip Haythornwaite here uses fascinating first hand accounts and detailed research to give a 'soldier's-eye view' of the British Rifleman, his life and work.

Dedicated to the life of the average US soldier during World War I, this book follows the doughboy during the course of the war: from conscription, arrival at a training facility, transportation to Europe, and finally into combat in the trenches. The evolution of the US Army is discussed, and its organization, the tension between Pershing’s desire for “open” warfare and the actual reality of trench warfare is examined in detail. Appearance, equipment and weaponry of the American soldier are all featured, along with vivid descriptions of day-to-day experiences and the shock of combat on the front.

The Hussar were the skilled, daring and flamboyant light cavalrymen first drawn for Hapsburg service, from what is now northern Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary in the late 17th century. Before long, major European nations adopted Hussar formations, uniform and equipment. This title covers a dynamic and glamorous period, during which the Hussars were increasingly regulated within the Hapsburg army, and developments took place in clothing, weaponry and equipment, notably the introduction of short carbines and rifles. Battlefield tactics, campaign life, and famous episodes of derring-do are also given full treatment, making this a packed, colourful and fascinating study of the Hungarian Hussar.

Справочник с цветными иллюстрациями по униформе противоборствующих сторон в период гражданской войны в Испании 1936-1939 гг..

The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was one of the greatest fighting formations in history: a combination of an outstanding commander and an excellent fighting force. This book offers an in-depth study of why this formation was so successful against Northern armies, which often had a greater wealth of resources and manpower and some very able leaders. Almost always outnumbered, Lee's forces were able to record a number of notable victories by giving free rein to subordinates and utilizing the fighting qualities of the army's units to the full. But more than anything else, The Army of Northern Virginia looks closely at the human dimension of Lee's army: the quality and individuality of its generals and their ability to interpret their superior's orders; the fighting spirit of the average "Johnny Reb"; and, above all, the leadership of Robert E. Lee himself, who became one of the 19th century's greatest generals. Also includes color and black and white maps.

Their lifestyle of hunting for sport and profit honed the Boers' skills of field-craft, horsemanship, and marksmanship, making them a formidable force in the field and well suited to guerrilla operations. This book describes the life and combat experiences of a typical Boer in this key period. Using meticulously researched analysis and comment, and the experiences of a composite character, Johannes de Bruyn, a revealing portrait of Boer life and military operations is drawn. The actions at Laing's Neck, Majuba, the Zulu Civil War and the Second Anglo-Boer War are covered in this packed and informative treatment.

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.