Pen Sword: 3374 books

Much has been written about the conduct of the land battles and the commanders who faced each other yet, as the main protagonists realised at the time, success or failure rested on the effectiveness of their seaborne supply chain. Control of the Mediterranean was therefore absolutely crucial. In the...

This is a compelling book for lovers of sea and air stories from the Great War era. In the thirteen stories told by the participants, many of whom were decorated for bravery, they describe their experiences of events: stories of luck, tenacity, courage, extreme danger, excitement and bravery. Also...

The centuries-long history of the legendary and deadly English longbow is explored and explained in a “classic work . . . an engaging, enjoyable read” (De Re Military). From the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, the longbow was the weapon that changed European history more than any other....

One hundred and fifty years ago the Royal Navy fought a daring campaign against ruthless pirates and won, killing ‘The King of the Pirates’, Bartholomew Roberts off the coast of Africa and capturing his fleet. Scores of his men were executed by the Admiralty Court. On the Barbary Coast...

What kind of Royal Navy does Britain need now? The 21st century promises to be one of huge uncertainties and challenges for the senior service. Does Britain have the right naval strategy to cope with emerging threats (does it have a naval strategy at all, and should it?) and, if so, does the Navy...

This is a must-buy for the Royal Navy and Submarine enthusiast, being a complete directory of RN submarines from the outset to the present day. There is a wealth of detail on each class. Every entry contains the specification, launch dates of individual boats, details of evolving construction and...

In 1922 the US Navy commissioned its first small experimental aircraft carrier. This was followed into service by two much larger and capable carriers in 1927 with five more being built prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor including three large Yorktown class.

To take the offensive against...

For three hundred years or more the Royal Navy really did “Rule the Waves”, in the sense that during the numerous wars with our overseas enemies, British fleets and individual ships more often than not emerged victorious from combat. One French Admiral wa

This paperback edition of this seminal new study of a key battle of the Civil Wars re-examines one of England's most mysterious battlefields at Edgehill, and it combines the work of three outstanding military historians. Each is an expert in the areas of battlefield interpretation, military equipment...

The Lusitania Story is the complete story of this most famous ocean liner, told for the first time in a single volume. The Lusitania is today most remembered for controversy surrounding her loss by a German submarine attack in 1915, during the First World War. But this book also tells of her life...

In World War II James Leasor was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and posted to the 1st Lincolns in Burma and India, where he served for three and a half years. His experiences inspired him to write such books as Boarding Party (filmed as The Sea Wolves). He later became a feature writer...

Stuart J Wright tells the gripping story of a World War II American aircrew flying missions from Old Buckenham, England in a B-24 Liberator bomber they nicknamed Corky. This is a true account based on years of research and correspondence with crew members and their families. Wright adds a dimension...

Until recently James Beatson was one of the millions of forgotten soldiers of the Great War. But after 90 years his diary has been rediscovered, perfectly preserved, and his story can now be told. It is a moving, intensely personal and beautifully written narrative by an extraordinary young man who...

What was the soldier’s experience of the Battle of the Somme? How did the men who were there record their part in the fighting or remember it afterwards? How can we, 100 years later, gain an insight into one of the most famous – and contentious - episodes of the Great War? Matthew Richardson’s...