The book is a comprehensive guide to the dynamic operations that have saved hundreds of lives in hostage situations around the world. It is based on strategies that have proved successful in numerous incidents including the landmark SAS rescue at Prince's Gate, London, and is compiled by an author with intimate and practical knowledge in the field, from nuclear power plants to airliners and a range of special weapons available to the men and women tackling each situation. At 5.30am on 26th October 2002, when Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) teams stormed a theatre in Moscow in an attempt to rescue more than 700 hostages who had been held for 58 hours by up to 50 Chechen terrorists, they launched the largest hostage rescue operation up until that time. The question is how many would have died had the operation not been launched? The previous day, intelligence had been gleaned when Alpha Personnel drilled a hole in a side wall of the theatre auditorium and inserted a fibre optic camera. This confirmed two large explosive devices were not wired for immediate detonation. They also emplaced infrared sensors to monitor the movement of the Chechens. An operator skilled in infrared surveillance tracked the terrorists by the juxtaposition of the 'hot' signature of the body, and the 'cold' signature of the weapon carried. FSB psychologists were also called in to assess the mood of hostage-takers based on information from the listening devices. With vivid photographs and diagrams of the rescue units in action, this is the complete reference work on counter-terrorist procedures. 192 page large paperback, very well illustrated. A 2001 and revised edition 2005 edition reprinted 2015. 31 illus.

In 1915, the German government published a book in Berlin entitled '"1915". It was produced in an attempt to portray the Germans as a civilised people who were destined to win the war, but in the meantime they would treat their prisoners with care and compassion. The aim of this present book is to compare "1915" to the reality of captivity, as experienced by the prisoners themselves. The book was translated into English by the German publisher, and sections are reproduced here, word for word, with errors and spelling and grammar included to add to the authenticity. Personal accounts from former prisoners will describe the reality of falling into the hands of the German Army and life as a prisoner of the Kaiser. The book has useful and unacknowledged accounts by captured British soldiers, maps of the camps, and interesting information about troops being sent to various camps. Dozens of original photographs from "1915" tell the story as seen through German eyes and here are photographs of a group of French, British and Belgian prisoners of war at Döberitz camp, Russian prisoners of war, working parties on a farm, an electrified fence along the German-Dutch border which has claimed a victim, a Greek Ritual Service at Sprottau where close by was a lazarette of 40 barracks for tubercular prisoners, the interiors of a Russian church, a French church and a synagogue, a prisoners' orchestra at Danzit-Troyl camp. From the "1915" book: 'A number of prisoners of war, arriving from the East, proved to be infected with cholera, typhus, dysentery and above all the dangerous spotted typhus... therefore disinfecting apparatus were provided for every camp', with machines used to rid prisoners' clothing of lice, shown in a photograph in use at Sagan camp which had a capacity of 6,000 prisoners known in the Second World War as Stalag Luft III of the Great Escape fame. Packed with archive photos, many of great nostalgic value, others grim and showing a harsh reality, reproduced to the best possible quality. Plus maps. 191pp.

In the summer of 1914, Lancaster, the ancient county town of what is properly the County Palatine of Lancaster, remained essentially the market town it had been for centuries, having been granted a borough charter in 1193 by King John. A key town on the main road from London to Carlisle (the modern A6), the Lancaster Canal opened in 1797, the railway had come early to Lancaster, there was an ancient grammar school and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. and since the 18th century the castle had been a prison. At the outbreak of the First World War panic buying led to price rises for sugar in particular and many grocers rationed their supplies. The first news of the war was referred to the 5th (Territorial) Battalion of the King?s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, which was due to begin its annual training near Kirkby Lonsdale on 2nd August. Training was cancelled and all units recalled to base, directed to guard the docks and warships in Barrow-in-Furness. Then they were sent by train to Didcot to guard the GWR line between Reading and Didcot and moved on to Sevenoaks before they embarked for France in February 1915. All those serving in the first two years of the war were volunteers and they suffered quite disproportionate losses. The 1st Battalion of the King?s Own formed part of the initial British Expeditionary Force and was soon in action at Mons and Le Cateau. Among the first to lose his life was their Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Alfred McNair Dykes, a veteran of the Boer War, along with three officers and 83 other ranks including Private John Carney of Ridge Street among many other Lancaster men. The town was out of range for shelling from the sea or aerial bombardment, but did experience an explosion at its munitions factory in 1917. Apart from this the Mayor and council endeavoured to continue with their primary duties as far as possible in running the town. The Lancaster men received many awards for gallantry. 116pp in large softback with many archive photos and posters.

The City of Leeds has a rich and varied military heritage and this book charts that heritage from Roman times to the end of the Second World War. The City came into its own in the English Civil War when it was a target for both Royalists and Parliamentarian armies and had a flirtation with the conflict of the 18th century Jacobite Uprisings and its regiments were mobilised in the industrial and social unrest caused by Chartism and Luddism. Leeds responded enthusiastically and the call to arms for volunteer regiments in the 19th century amid fears of French invasion and French-style popular revolution. Some of its most famous regiments find their origins at this time - Leeds Volunteers, Leeds Rifles and the 1st Leeds Yorkshire West Riding Artillery Volunteer Corps; 2nd West Yorkshire Royal Engineer Volunteers and the Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own). Local industry, not least brewers Joshua Tetley, supported this with a ready supply of horses and men. The Second Boer War saw Leeds Regiment serve with distinction, winning one VC, but it was in the First World War where Leeds men and women excelled themselves in patriotism and bravery and sadly sacrifice and slaughter. Military uniforms were made in their tens of thousands, while the heroines of the Barnbow Munitions Factory turned out even more munitions. 37 of the Canary Girls and two men tragically died working for their country in three fateful explosions. The Second World War was met by the people of Leeds with similar fortitude and regiments and an RAF squadron fought with distinction. Here are rare nostalgic archive photographs of RAF Yeadon (Leeds-Bradford Airport), the Blitz of 1941, 609 Squadron, Yeadon Lancaster factory, Leeds as a garrison city and current military research in Leeds. Also a look at conscientious objectors, agriculture, anti-Semitism, zeppelins and more. Packed with archive photos and a colour plates and map section. 128pp in softback.

Sub-titled 'A History of the 12th (Pioneers) King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 1914-1918'. Little is known or understood of the contribution made by the thousands of men who served with the original Pioneer Battalions. Building and repairing roads, bridges, railway lines, gun emplacements, and laying barbed wire to protect the front line were just some of the tasks that they performed on a regular basis. Fortunately the subject of the British Army's logistical support in the war zone during the new industrialised warfare that developed during 1914 and 1918 is now being examined in greater detail. The initial training the Battalion received laid the foundation of the spirit of discipline and self-sacrifice for which it was noted, whether serving with the Division or detached for special duty. When sent to Flanders for the Third Battalion of Ypres, their services were the subject of highly complimentary reports from the Corps and Army Commanders. The first person to be acknowledged in this reproduction of the history must be the original author, Captain R. Ede England, whose intimate knowledge of this Battalion allowed him to describe in detail the part it played and the difficulties experienced by these former miners and engineers who found themselves caught up in the world's first truly industrialised global war. The photographs included were taken by members of the Battalion, despite the fact that Army Regulations forbade the use of cameras at the Front. With use of recollections of former members and the Battalion's war diary as the basic framework on which to hang the stories of battles fought and hideous conditions endured, Captain England's approach to the telling of the story appears somewhat light-hearted but this simply may reflect his ability to see a lighter side to the grim reality that was all around him. Of course there were at the time many comical articles published in The Wipers Times by another Pioneer Battalion. Captain England also refers to the extent of the damage to the towns and cities of Northern France, and even to the very nature of the soil over which the battles were waged over four years. His figures show that during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, the 12th KOYLI laid 29 miles of light track railway carrying some 18,000 tons of ammunition in one week alone. The original readers of Captain England's book would have been familiar with the political, social industrial background of the time and such names as Maconochie's Stew, only one of a number of canned food stuffs that developed an unfortunate reputation with the troops. The Battalion performed with such distinction it gained the nickname 'The Yorkshire Guards'. 188pp, very well illustrated with photographs and map.

Like other towns across the country, Northampton was changed forever in how people in the town lived, worked and endured the Great War of 1914-18. It changed the way industry operated, broke down barriers and created opportunity, particularly for women. Homes lost their breadwinners. Industries were forced to change long-held views and working practices. Wasteland was ploughed and planted to increase crop yields for food, families dug up their gardens, the Army formed Home Guard units, workers were persuaded to buy War Bonds, and in many places Zeppelins successfully crossed the Channel and bombed towns. This was a people's war in all respects. Northampton at this time had a population of around 95,000 living in mainly terraced, poor-quality housing, with poor sanitation. Of that total, 29,700 were men of working age with the main employer being the shoe industry. The rest of the workforce held down jobs in engineering, the various breweries, flour mills or the building industry. But in that summer of 1914 the Castle Ashby 32nd Annual Flower Show went ahead as planned with a panel of horticultural experts giving their verdicts in the judging of over 1260 entries in a variety of gardening categories, and the Annual August Parade went ahead, headed by the Brixworth Brass Band. Around the same time, enlisted men of the Northamptonshire Regiment, training at Ashridge Park Hertfordshire, were ordered back to Northampton. On the food front, impending war pushed up prices on staple foods like bacon, cheese, butter and sugar, but it was widely believed that the conflict would be short-lived. Business owners and people with German names found themselves under pressure, verbally abused or their premises attacked. The shoe industry however saw a sudden increase in business - the army needed boots. Here too is the story of Northampton's remarkable people and how they helped Belgian refugees who had fled the German invasion, organised fundraising events for the troops in local hospitals, accepted soldiers of the Welsh Fusiliers into their homes, and worked long hours producing boots for the army. Against a background of key military events, the book celebrates the city's contribution to the war effort. With poor quality but nevertheless interesting archive photos, 142pp in large softback.

Steel production and downstream manufacturing would be perpetually embedded in the military legacy of this seat of industrial innovation and production. The Vickers steel foundry was established in Sheffield in 1828. Following the manufacture of the factory's first artillery in 1890, Sheffield expanded to find itself a leading supplier in the First World War, feeding the military with shells, artillery, naval guns, armour plating, aircraft parts, torpedoes, helmets and bayonets. A proud tradition of answering a call to the colours spawned the 84th Regiment of Foot, the Loyal Independent Sheffield Volunteers of the 1700s, the Hallamshire Rifle Volunteers raised in 1859, and the Sheffield Squadron, Yeomanry Cavalry. The 1899-1902 Anglo-Boer War would also have an enduring legacy - the Sheffield Wednesday Football Stadium was named Spion Kop, while local road names include Ladysmith Avenue and Mafeking Place. On 1st July 1916, the Sheffield City Battalion fought in an heroic and costly but hopeless action on the Somme to capture the village of Serre. Through the Second World War right up to Afghanistan, the city's men and women in uniform have not been found wanting. The York and Lancaster Regiment elected to disband when the British Army was reorganised in 1968, only one of two regiments to do so. The colours were laid up for the last time in the Regiment's own St. George's Memorial Chapel in Sheffield Cathedral. The uniquely titled Hallamshires would in the Second World War ensure that Sheffield's military pride will be indelibly inscribed in perpetuity in the city's legacy. They proudly wore the polar bear shoulder patch that identified them as members of the 49th Division, and from the frozen Norwegian and Icelandic theatres to North-West Europe, the battalion led the division across the Seine, the Dutch border, and finally the Rhine as the war drew to a close. 128 page very well illustrated large paperback, with eight pages of colour images and maps.

Sub-titled 'The Changing Face of Aerial Warfare 1940 to the Present Day' defence expert Anthony Tucker-Jones charts the remarkable evolution of aerial warfare and asks can air power alone win a war? That has been a question since the Second World War. Air attacks failed miserably in Vietnam; Operation Linebacker had little effect, while bombing Hanoi just increased hatred for America, yet airstrikes in both Iraq and Libya helped bring about regime changes. No-fly zones may have worked in the Balkans, but they might as well not have been there for Saddam Hussein's Iraq. From the Luftwaffe's massed attack on Britain to NATO's interventions in Libya, the piston engine has been replaced by the jet, and in some cases the pilot has been completely replaced by the microchip and remote control. Carpet bombing is now a global positioning system, and laser pinpointed strikes use precision-guided munitions. Whereas a bomber's greatest enemies were once fighters and flak, these threats have morphed into smart missiles from half a world away. Chapters include Eagle Day, Striking Pearl Harbor, Slaughterer at Kharkov, Typhoons over Normandy, Target Toulon, Death Over the Reich, MiG Alley, Day of the Helicopter, Nam Mud Movers, Niagara, Storm in the Desert and Bombing Tripoli and Rise of the Drone. 220 page softback, 28 pages of illustrations. A History Press publication.

Even after it had been renamed the 'Alphabet Company' by an AIF wag, few soldiers on the Western Front had heard of the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company. Yet many knew the work of this tiny unit which numbered fewer than 300 at full strength. Despite its small size, its influence was enormous and spanned the entire British sector from the North Sea to the Somme. This is the story of the 'Alphabeticals' who, led by Major Victor Morse DSO, operated and maintained pumps, generators, ventilation fans, drilling equipment and other ingenious devices in extreme circumstances. Given the horrendous conditions in which the troops lived and fought, this equipment was desperately needed, as were the men who operated it often in the same nightmarish setting. This is the first account of this dynamic little unit whose history has been neglected for a century, and a story of the men, their machinery and extraordinary grit. They do not deserve to be forgotten. These 260 brave souls arrived in France with 13 electric generating sets, underground ventilation and water-pumping equipment, almost 40 portable drilling machines and large, steam-powered drilling machines and their work was increasingly prized, more and more equipment purchased, and more men trained in its operation in the frequently hot, cramped and smelly little dugouts, cellars or roughly constructed lean-tos. The very first image in this interesting history is of Brigadier General Robert 'Duckie' Napier Harvey, CB, CMG, DSO, Inspector of Mines for the BEF in France, responsible for all tunnelling companies. 329pp, many maps and archive photos throughout this Pen & Sword publication. Large softback, save £10.

A Greenhill book first published in 1997, we are delighted to have the 2016 reprint in a large format Pen and Sword softback. It is from the G.I. Series, an illustrated history of the American soldier, his uniform and his equipment and ends in the early 90s and therefore should be seen as a collection of rare photographs with extended captions beginning with an image of General Norman Schwarzkopf and Collin Powell listening to a briefing during the Persian Gulf War. There is a close up of a tank driver for the 24th Infantry Division based at Fort McPherson Georgia wearing a DH-132 armoured crewman's helmet with sun, wind and dust goggles. There are troops pictured during a 'Reforger' exercise in 1985, 'Forward deployed' in Europe, prepared to halt an invasion of Western Europe by Warsaw Pact forces. A G.I. takes aim with his M16A2 rifle and is wearing the daytime desert camouflage BDUs known by G.I.s as 'chocolate chips'. Here are parades and drills, an SGT taking a break to smoke his pipe during Operation Desert Storm, the Drill Instructors, Military Policewomen, Kitchen Police, students honing their physical skills or taking a breather in desert operations, Eskimo Scouts, army snipers, an AH-15 Cobra Attack helicopter carrying eight TOW missiles, 750 rounds of 20mm canon ammunition and 76 2.75" rockets, a formidable array of weaponry. It was replaced by the Apache helicopter. And the Navy and Military Policeman and jungle training all make their way into this collection of 100 rare and unusual images as the U.S. Army has become a smaller and more technologically advanced force. 80 page large paperback.