Pen And Sword: 3067 books

This book describes the action of 9 May 1915 when the battalions of the 1st Division, 7th Division and the Indian Army attacked Aubers Ridge. Their objective was to break the German line and cut the supply route to the enemy troops fighting to the south against a French Offensive at Vimy Ridge. In...

The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaiser’s men. Following closely on the heels of the devastating ‘Operation Michael’ attack in March on the Somme and around Arras, named as ‘Operation...

Reasons in Writing tells Southby-Tailyour's story of the Falklands War largely through the medium of diaries and letters written during his peacetime tour of duty in the seventies and the war itself. Reasons in Writing, is unlikely to be rivalled for its immediacy, insight and deep and genuine feeling...

This beautifully presented book captures the spirit of a little known war where the Royal Navy played a peripheral but crucial role. The power of the British Empire was at its height, thanks to the reach of the Royal Navy and officers from that service who often found themselves far from home and in positions of power way beyond their rank.

This heavily illustrated manual provides a timely, in-depth review of the art of sniping in war and anti-terrorist environments. Drawing on a vast, firsthand knowledge of sniper skills, former British Army sniper and sniper instructor Mark Spicer describes the role of the sniper in peace and in war,...

Alexander Johnston went over to France in August 1914 as the signals officer for 7 Infantry Brigade. He went on to serve in that capacity with 3rd Division before becoming, in turn, Brigade Major, Commanding Officer 10th Battalion Cheshire Regiment and finally Officer Commanding 126 Infantry Brigade. Throughout...

At 9.30am on 21 March 1918, the last great battle of the First World War commenced when three German armies struck a massive blow against the weak divisions of the British Third and Fifth Armies. It was the first day of what the Germans called the Kaiserschlacht (‘the Kaiser’s Battle’), the...

Previous works have concentrated on the 'Pal' in Britain's northern towns and cities. This book seeks to explore the little appreciated part in the Battle of the Somme played by the Regular and Volunteer Service battalions of two small West Country regiments; the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset...

The mist of poisonous gas that drifted across no man's land from the German trenches opposite the Ypres salient on 22 April 1915 caused ghastly casualties and suffering among the unprepared defenders, and it opened up a huge seven-mile gap in the defensive line. It also signalled the beginning of...

The trench raid came to typify the aggression and close-combat of trench warfare on the Western Front. Inevitably, raiding by aggressively minded units had a psychological effect on the enemy. Dominance over the enemy could be established by aggressive raiding. Equally, raiding had an effect on the...

By late March 1945, Second British Army and Ninth US Army were poised to carry out an assault crossing of the Rhine. In the British part of the operations, Montgomery’s best assault divisions were assembled to carry out the British and Canadian part of the attack between Emmerich and Wesel. A...

Although over 330,000 British and French soldiers were evacuated from the Dunkirk beaches between 26 May and 4 June, many thousands remained in France, most under French command. Churchill, now the Prime Minister, and desperate to keep the French in the War, decided to form a Second BEF made up of...

Having fought their way up fifty miles of Hell's Highway and through Nijmegen, XXX Corps was just ten miles from Arnhem and the 1st British Airborne Division. Here it found itself on an island of flat land between the Waal at Nijmegen and the Rhine at Arnhem. The situation was increasingly bad with...

The book is a detailed account of the fighting around Ypres during April and May 1915. It is essentially a day-by-day record of the Second Battle of Ypres which draws heavily upon personal accounts, regimental histories and war diaries to present a comprehensive study of the battle in which Germany...