Philip Katcher: 10 books

Philip Katcher provides an overview to the conflict that engulfed Vietnam following the division of the country into two along the 17th Parallel in 1954. The uniforms and insignia of the US forces, including the army, Special Forces, air force, navy and marine corps, are dealt with in detail, together...

For General George B. McClellan, the dejected Union troops who poured into Washington fresh from defeat at Bull Run on Monday 22 July, 1861, were to provide the raw material which he would train, equip, organise and ultimately transform from a mere mob into an effective fighting force. In October...

On the 27 June, 1862, with the American Civil War already a year old, General Robert E. Lee assumed personal command of troops engaged in driving the Federal Army of the Potomac out of Richmond – troops which would henceforth be known as The Army of Northern Virginia. Philip Katcher explores in...

At the time of the American Civil War, with two million men under arms, a US Army that in pre-war days had depended upon a minute number of technical troops now required virtually an army of specialists alone. Special sharpshooters were recruited for skirmishing duty; men whose wounds would have led...

At the time of the Second World War, the United States Army took an unusual approach, for the period, towards the design of its uniforms. Rather than attempt to find an all-purpose outfit, such as the British battledress, it attempted to design special-purpose dress for every possible duty, from combat...

The War between the States' is the term used for the American Civil War throughout much of the South even today. Many on both sides – not just the South – felt that they were serving their states as much, if not more, than their central governments. Many of the states agreed; the state governments...

In the heady days of the rush to arms in 1861, comparatively few Southern men volunteered for service in the artillery: most preferred the easily accessible glory of the infantry or cavalry. Yet those that did quickly earned the respect of their fellow soldiers, and a reputation for being able to...

Because of the length of the coastline of the United States, from the beginning American ordnance and engineers placed an emphasis on heavy artillery mounted in coastal defences. The Union army organised its 'Heavy Artillery' into separate regiments, uniformed and equipped differently. While the Field...

The bombardment by Confederate artillery of Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861 was the spark that finally ignited the American Civil War, quickly bringing thousands of eager volunteers for the Union cause. It proved especially easy to raise cavalry, since recruits naively believed that their military duties...

Between 1890 and 1920 the US Army underwent profound changes in organization, function, composition and appearance. The Army was transformed from a small, blue-clad force whose primary weapon was the single-shot rifle, into a mighty host of men dressed in dirt-coloured combat uniforms, using automatic...