Military (454)

Libyan Air Wars Part 3 (Africa@War 22)

ISBN: 9781910294543

Authors: Tom Cooper, Albert Grandolini    Publisher: Helion & Company

Confrontations between Libya, and the USA and France reached their highest point in the period between April 1986 and early 1989. In response to a Libyan-instig...


Confrontations between Libya, and the USA and France reached their highest point in the period between April 1986 and early 1989. In response to a Libyan-instigated and supported series of terror attacks against US citizens and interests in Europe, in April 1986 the USA launched Operation El Dorado Canoyon - a series of raids against carefully selected targets in Libya. Simultaneously, the USA and France bolstered the military of the Chadian government, enabling it to subsequently launch an all-out advance against Libyan troops and proxy forces in the north of Libya. This culminated in the series of spectacular campaigns better known as 'Toyota Wars', characterized by high speed of operations and surprise. The Chadian Army defeated its opponents in 1987 and nearly launched an invasion of Libya in 1988, successfully concluding this conflict. This title closes the Libyan Air Wars mini-series with a detailed insight into the final US-Libyan confrontation, which took place in early 1989, and culminated in another high-profile air combat between the most modern jet fighters of the Libyan Arab Air Force, and the US Navy. As usual, the volume is richly illustrated by well over 150 contemporary and exclusive photographs, color profiles, and maps, detailing the history, training, equipment, markings and tactics of the involved air forces.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 72


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 05-08-2016


Tags: History   Military
$49.99
Ferdinand Elefant

ISBN: 9780764366437

Author: David Doyle    Publisher: Schiffer Books

The Panzerjager Tiger (P) was a powerful tank destroyer fielded in small numbers by the Wehrmacht. As indicated by the Panzerjager Tiger (P) name, this series o...


The Panzerjager Tiger (P) was a powerful tank destroyer fielded in small numbers by the Wehrmacht. As indicated by the Panzerjager Tiger (P) name, this series of 90 vehicles was based on an early design of the Panzer VI Tiger tank, specifically the unsuccessful tank design prototype by Ferdinand Porsche. In fact, as initially fielded, the series of giant tank killers was given the name Ferdinand. After disappointing performance at Kursk, the 48 surviving Ferdinands were returned to the factory for rebuilding and modification. Shortly thereafter, the name of the vehicles was changed from Ferdinand to Elefant. Through vintage photos, this new volume illustrates the combat history of both the Ferdinand and Elefant, additionally providing background information illuminating the development of the ill-fated Porsche Tiger design. The 100 vintage photos are augmented by over 110 full-color photos of the only two surviving examples, illustrating the nuances of the construction and wartime modification of these formidable tank destroyers.


Bind: hardback


Pages: 112


Dimensions: 228 x 228 mm


Publication Date: 28-04-2023


$45.00
Target Saigon 1973-75 Volume 2 (Asia@War 16)

ISBN: 9781911512929

Author: Albert Grandolini    Publisher: Helion & Company

After 27 years of conflict it seemed that peace would finally settle on the Indochina peninsula on 27January 1973 with the signing of a peace accord in Paris. T...


After 27 years of conflict it seemed that peace would finally settle on the Indochina peninsula on 27January 1973 with the signing of a peace accord in Paris. The North Vietnamese had previously launched their greatest offensive against South Vietnam but fell short of their objectives, the destruction of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the destruction of the Saigon regime. They now proposed, in exchange for the release of the US prisoners of war, the withdrawal of the remaining American forces in Vietnam. Far from feeling committed by the agreement, the Hanoi leadership prepared the next round, the ultimate conquest of South Vietnam now that Washington had completely evacuated its last troops from the country. That first volume sets the scene, by making an assessment of the situation on the field, in both tactical and strategic perspectives. It also examines the last episode of the US gradual withdrawal as well as the implementation of part of the Peace Accords with the removal by the US Navy of the mines sown by its aircraft from the North Vietnamese ports and inland waters. It then presents the respective opposing armed forces and will particularly focus on the North Vietnamese rebuilding after the havoc wrought by the American aerial campaign of 1972. Furthermore, the expansion of the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail, vital for the logistical support of the communist troops, is thoroughly detailed. The South Vietnamese on their part placed great emphasis on developing their own air force in order to try to replace the withdrawal of American airpower. Most at all, it also details the initial fighting that not only resumed but soon escalated into divisional-level battles where the South Vietnamese still prevailed.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 88


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 21-11-2017


Tags: Military   History
$49.99
The Chaco Air War 1932-35 Latin America@War 5

ISBN: 9781911512967

Author: Antonio Sapienza    Publisher: Helion & Company

The Chaco War was probably the first "modern" conflict in Latin America where military aviation was widely used in all roles. Bolivia, as the reader will find o...


The Chaco War was probably the first "modern" conflict in Latin America where military aviation was widely used in all roles. Bolivia, as the reader will find out, had a very powerful military air force, but unfortunately for them and luckily for Paraguay, its high army command did not take advantage of it. On the other hand, the Paraguayan Commander-in-Chief, General José Félix Estigarribia used military aviation to help him defeat the enemy on the ground, and the result was clear: the Bolivians were expelled from the Chaco after three years of war. Previous publications have focused on the Chaco Air War with the aircraft technical details and almost no information on aerial operations, which is this book's centerpiece. All dogfights and bombing missions mentioned are detailed including crews, aircraft, serials, places and outcomes. The book also describes how both military air forces were organized, how pilots and aviation mechanics were trained, how and where aircraft were purchased and many other unpublished before details. The maps included in the book will help the reader have an idea of where aerial operations took place, both combatants air bases, Bolivia's plan to conquer the whole region and how the Paraguayan Army finally expelled the enemy out of the Chaco. The text is supported by a large number of photographs, and specially commissioned color profile artworks from modelers.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 80


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 19-04-2018


Tags: Military   History
$49.99
At the Forward Edge of Battle A History of the Pakistan Armoured Corps 1938-2016 Volume 1 (Asia@War 9)

ISBN: 9781911628071

Author: Major General Syed Ali Hamid    Publisher: Helion & Company

This is a well-researched and authoritative account by a military historian, Maj Gen Syed Ali Hamid. It embraces the evolution of the Pakistan Armoured Corps, i...


This is a well-researched and authoritative account by a military historian, Maj Gen Syed Ali Hamid. It embraces the evolution of the Pakistan Armoured Corps, including its culture, organization, doctrine, equipment, operational performance, overseas deployment, garrisons, personalities and a myriad of events that together portray what and why the corps is at this point in time. Beginning with the mechanization of the Indian cavalry in 1938, it spans nearly 95 years and chronicles the corps remarkable growth. It narrates how a redundant horse mounted force went through various stages of metamorphosis, surmounted the challenges of Independence and transformed from a small supporting arm into the mechanized spearhead of the Pakistan Army. Its richness lies in the portrayal the Muslim clans that form the rank and file of the Armoured Corps, as well as tracing the development of its officer corps from its genesis and onwards through the Second World War and leading onto post-Independence. This includes an assessment of many personalities who performed a leading role in the development of the corps. It also provides an interesting insight into the culture of the Pakistan Armoured Corps which is a unique blend of values and traditions inherited from its predecessor, with those of a post-Independence national army. This highly informative book compliments publications on the Pakistan Army by elaborating on the role and structure of one of its principal arms. Since it covers in some detail the Pakistan-India conflicts, it also compliments books published by the Indian authors by presenting a view from 'the other side of the hill.' To place the evolution and development of the armored corps in context, the author has painstakingly researched and presented hitherto fragmented information on the Pakistan Army. Consequently the book also emerges as a work of value to an audience which is interested in how the Pakistan Army evolved and the milestones in its development. Having served in the Pakistan Army for 50 years, the author has a unique insight into the evolution of the corps and is linked with its past through his father Maj Gen Syed Shahid Hamid who was commissioned from Sandhurst into the cavalry of British India in 1933. Shahid was one of the pioneers of the Pakistan Army and the author of several books on political and military history of the sub-continent. The publication is liberally illustrated with a large number of photographs, many of them unpublished, which makes for very interesting reading. There is also a liberal use of maps to support the text. For a serious student of the military history of the Pakistan-India Subcontinent, this book is a major scholarly work with footnotes / endnotes, a bibliography of ten pages of primary and secondary references, and two large indexes.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 96


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 16-10-2019


Tags: History   Military
$55.00
Hot Skies over Yemen Volume 2 (Middle East@War 14)

ISBN: 9781911628187

Author: Tom Cooper    Publisher: Helion & Company

Following the Civil War of 1994, Yemen experienced few years of relative peace. This was rudely interrupted in 2004, when the government opened the first of six...


Following the Civil War of 1994, Yemen experienced few years of relative peace. This was rudely interrupted in 2004, when the government opened the first of six campaigns against the movement colloquially known as 'Houthis'. The Yemeni Air Force - partially re-equipped over the previous years - saw intensive involvement in this conflict, but proved insufficient. In late 2009 and through 2010, the war spread into Saudi Arabia, which reacted with its first military intervention in the country. A host of long-simmering internal conflicts culminated in the second Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, launched in March 2015. Although run along widely accepted Western doctrine of aerial warfare, and highly effective, the campaign in question experienced a number of massive problems - primarily related to unexpected developments and extremely complex relations between multiple parties in Yemen. That the air forces of the Saudi-led alliance involved in the ongoing campaign in Yemen are operating some of most modern combat aircraft and weaponry manufactured in the West is no secret. But, exactly how, why, when, and where are they deploying weapons systems in question and for what purpose remains entirely unknown in the public. Thanks to approach to firsthand sources, this volume is providing answers to precisely these questions and thus providing an exclusive insight into the conduct of operations by such modern aircraft types like F-15S, F-16E/F, EF-2000 Typhoon, and Mirage 2000. Containing over 140 photographs, color profiles, maps and extensive tables, Hot Skies over Yemen is a richly illustrated and unique point of reference about one segment of modern aerial warfare that remains entirely unknown until today.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 84


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 29-08-2018


Tags: Military   History
$49.99
Lebanese Civil War Volume 1 (Middle East@War 21)

ISBN: 9781911628200

Authors: Sérgio Santana, Tom Cooper    Publisher: Helion & Company

Formerly known as the 'Switzerland of the Middle East', an island of economic stability and social progress, Lebanon was shattered by a civil war that raged fro...


Formerly known as the 'Switzerland of the Middle East', an island of economic stability and social progress, Lebanon was shattered by a civil war that raged from 1975 until 1990. Pitting the central government against different factions and alliances of Christians, Sunni and Shi'a Moslems, leftists, and Syrian armed forces, this multifaceted conflict experienced a major escalation when Israel launched an invasion with the aim of destroying the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), in 1982. Also known as the First Lebanon War, or Operation Peace for Galilee, the Israeli enterprise was run in cooperation with Christian allies and the self-proclaimed Free Lebanon State. Except for attacking the PLO and surrounding its leadership in West Beirut, it provoked a major showdown with Syrian armed forces deployed inside Lebanon, and resulted in a series of bitter battles. Ever since, fighting on the ground and in the sky of the Beka'a Valley is a synonym for modern-day conventional air-land battle in the age of high-technology warfare. Focusing on military-related developments, and rich in exclusive details and illustrations, 'Lebanese Civil War: Israeli Invasion, 1982' is dissecting military forces, their equipment, intention and capabilities, and their combat operations.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 96


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 13-11-2019


Tags: Military   History
$55.00
Nicaragua 1961-1990 Volume 1 (Latin America@War 10)

ISBN: 9781911628217

Author: David Francois    Publisher: Helion & Company

In the wake of the US invasion of Nicaragua in 1912, the country came under the rule of the Somoza family, which imposed a brutal and corrupt military dictators...


In the wake of the US invasion of Nicaragua in 1912, the country came under the rule of the Somoza family, which imposed a brutal and corrupt military dictatorship. A low-scale insurgency of students, supported by peasants and other anti-Somoza elements of the society developed already in the 1960s. By the 1970s, the country became embroiled in a brutal insurgency. Supported by Cuba, a coalition of students, farmers, businessmen, clergy and a small group of Marxists launched a major war in 1978, which resulted in the downfall of the Somozas, a year later. The Sandinista government established in Managua of 1979 found the country ruined by the long war and natural disasters, and nearly half of the population either homeless or living in exile. Attempting to restructure and recover the underdeveloped economy, Sandinisas introduced a wide range of reforms and a cultural revolution. Considering the Sandinistas for 'Cuban-supported Marxists' and therefore a major threat for the US domination of Latin America, in 1980-1981 the USA began supporting the creation of the Contrarevolutionary forces (better known as 'Contras'), and thus helped provoke a new war that was to rage through Nicaragua for most of that decade, and is going to be covered in Volume 2 of this mini-series. Leaning upon extensive studies of involved armed groups, and their insurgencies in the 1960s and 1970s, 'Nicaragua, 1961-1990, Volume 1' provides an in-depth coverage of military history during the first phase of one of major armed conflicts of Latin America in modern times. Guiding the reader meticulously through the details of involved forces, their ideologies, organization and equipment, this book is offering a uniquely accurate, blow-by-blow account of the Nicaraguan War and profusely illustrated with more than 120 photos, maps, and color artworks.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 72


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 04-01-2019


Tags: Military   History
$49.99
Desert Storm Volume 1 (Middle East@War 18)

ISBN: 9781911628224

Authors: E R Hooton, Tom Cooper    Publisher: Helion & Company

Early in the morning of 2 August 1990, aircraft of the Iraqi Air Force bombed Kuwaiti air bases, and then the Iraqi Republican Guards stormed into the country. ...


Early in the morning of 2 August 1990, aircraft of the Iraqi Air Force bombed Kuwaiti air bases, and then the Iraqi Republican Guards stormed into the country. Thus began what would be called the 'Gulf War' - also the 'II Gulf War', and sometimes the 'II Persian Gulf War' - fought between January and March 1991. Although encountering some problems, the Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in a matter of few days. However, when President Saddam Hussein of Iraq unleashed his military upon Kuwait, little did he know what kind of reaction he would provoke from the Western superpowers, and what kind of devastation his country would suffer in return. Concerned about the possibility of Iraq continuing its advance into Saudi Arabia, the USA - in coordination with Great Britain, France, and several local allies - reacted by deploying large contingents of their air, land, and naval forces to the Middle East. Months of fruitless negotiations and the continuous military buildup - Operation Desert Shield - followed, as tensions continued to increase. Determined to retain Kuwait, and despite multiple warnings from his own generals, Saddam Hussein rejected all demands to withdraw. The USA and its allies, 'the Coalition', were as determined to drive out the invader and restore Kuwaiti independence. Gradually, they agreed this would have to be by force. Following an authorization from the United Nations, the Coalition launched Operation Desert Storm, on 17 January 1991, opening one of the most intensive air campaigns in history. The last conventional war of the 20th Century saw the large, but essentially traditional, Iraqi Army overwhelmed by forces trained and equipped to exploit the latest technologies. Desert Storm reveals the whole war fought between Iraq and an international coalition, from the start of this campaign to its very end. Largely based on data released from official archives, spiced with numerous interviews, and illustrated with over 100 photographs, 18 color profiles and maps, it offers a refreshing insight into this unique conflict.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 112


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 13-08-2019


Tags: History   Military
$49.99
The Biafran Army 1967-70 (Africa@War 47)

ISBN: 9781911628637

Author: Philip S. Jowett    Publisher: Helion & Company

Synonymous with the starvation that killed almost two million people, Biafra was a parastate that voted to secede from Nigeria in May 1967. Formally recognized ...


Synonymous with the starvation that killed almost two million people, Biafra was a parastate that voted to secede from Nigeria in May 1967. Formally recognized by Gabon, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia, and supported by France, Israel, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Rhodesia, and even the Vatican, Biafra's attempt to leave Nigeria resulted in the Nigerian Civil War, which was to last until January 1970. Although lacking official support from abroad, the Biafran authorities quickly built up a military. Their efforts to set up an air force, supported by numerous Europeans - were widely publicized. Indeed, Biafra-related adventures of Polish World War II ace Jan Zumbach, or the Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen reached the status of legends before long. Far less is known about the Biafran Army and Navy, their capabilities and intentions, or the conduct of their combat operations. Indeed, the establishment of multiple commando units, and a special guerrilla outfit designed to emulate the Viet Cong, but especially the local manufacture of weapons - including armored vehicles - remain largely unknown to the public. Based on years of thorough research, Biafran Army is the first work ever to offer a comprehensive, in-depth study of the build-up, training, composition, equipment, and combat operations of all the three branches - the army, the air force, and the navy - of the secessionist military during the Nigerian Civil War. Illustrated by more than 120 rare photographs, maps, and color profiles, this account provides a unique source of reference for enthusiasts and professionals alike.


Bind: paperback


Pages: 88


Dimensions: 210 x 300 mm


Publication Date: 07-04-2020


Tags: Military   History
$49.99
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