The networks of canals stretching from the coast at Gravelines through St-Omer follows the approximate boundary between Artois and Flanders and was in 1940 the defence line established on the Western Edge of the so-called Dunkerque Corridor designed by Lord Gort to provide an evacuation route to the Channel coast. Even before events on the line of the Escaut Line had concluded with yet another Allied withdrawal, Lord Gort was diverting units to bolster the Canal Line defences. This was probably the first occasion that fighting along the Canal Line has been looked at in detail in this book. Overlooked by the inevitable withdrawal towards the Channel coast, the units deployed along the canal faced some of the stiffest fighting in the whole 1940 campaign. Whole battalions particularly those of the 2nd Division were sacrificed as units were thrown into battle in an attempt to slow down the German advance. The book looks at the ad hoc nature of the Usherforce and Polforce units, the units of the independent 25 Brigade, and the vicious fighting that enveloped the 2nd Division. Time is given also to the notorious massacre of the Royal Norfolk's at Louis Creton's Farm near Le Paradis. With over 100 contemporary and modern photographs, five car tours and three walks to give the tourist greater access and information about the battlefields. 205 page paperback.

The Cold War dominated international relations for the latter half of the 20th century from its beginnings in the rubble of a defeated Germany to its end with the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a battle of ideology and power politics supported by military might and pitted the democratic capitalist West against the communist states of Eastern Europe and Asia, and resulted in a series of flashpoints that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The first chapter in this extraordinary photographic history examines international diplomacy, the creation of the United Nations, the consequences of the Marshall Plan on European Recovery, and the outbreak of the Korean War. Subsequent analysis focuses on the death of Stalin and the beginnings of peaceful co-existence. The dangers of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Britain's decision to purchase the Polaris missile systems are also discussed and the chapter concludes with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the uprisings in Eastern Europe, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Subsequent chapters cover Cold War military alliances, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the unmasking of atomic spies Alan Nunn May and Klaus Fuchs, the significance of the Cambridge and Portland spy rings, and the role played by Soviet double agents. The second half of the book concentrates on civil defence, the protest movement, proxy wars in Africa and the popular culture, governments? plans for fighting and surviving a nuclear war, CND, Greenham Common, and conflicts that took place in the Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Finally we look at films, books and pop songs and the fears and anxieties of growing up in the shadow of the bomb and now the new challenges facing the international community in the 21st century. The primary narrative of each chapter is told from a British viewpoint and is based on records held by The National Archives at Kew. It is based on previously secret government reports and papers and tells the compelling story of global conflict and superpower politics set against a backdrop of dramatic social and cultural change and written by a renowned historian in the field. 159pp in large softback, plentiful illustrations, maps and diagrams and letters reproduced, plus posters and propaganda.

The real and exciting story of one of the most important units of World War Two. The Commando Unit played an important role in Britain's successes and here Durnford-Slater gives his first hand and unique point of view on everything that happened. Brigadier Durnford-Slater raised and trained the first Commando Unit in 1940, created to harry opposition forces in raids impossible for regular army units. He led No.3 Commando on an exploratory operation in Guernsey in summer 1940 and never looked back. From there No.3 Commando orchestrated raids on the Losten Islands and Vaagso in Norway and Dieppe, as well as operations in Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. The Commandoes were so effective at creating destruction that Hitler personally ordered that all fighters captured during these missions be executed. Nevertheless their spirit remained undented and extremely high. From their inception as a raiding force to their ultimate development into a battalion-sized spearhead, and their important support in the D-day landings, this first-hand account is a unique portrayal of the Unit's exploits and the personalities of the men who wore the green beret. The book was originally published in 1953 when the memories were still fresh and be warned there are descriptions of many deaths and damage. Paperback edition, 217pp with lovely big line art maps and archive photos reproduced in black and white to the best quality possible given their age.

The Crimean War of 1854-56 was the first of the 'modern' wars. The opening round at the Alma was a direct throwback to the Napoleonic campaigns of 50 years earlier, whereas the Siege of Sevastopol was a foretaste of the Great War more than 60 years later. Based upon the correspondence of Lieutenant William Allan, a young Scottish officer serving with the 41st (the Welch) Regiment throughout the campaign, these letters provide insight into the experiences of the officers both in action and in their day to day lives, the ravages of ill health and the incompetence of those in authority. As a young subaltern, Allan was amongst the first to arrive in Turkey and during the following 21 months he served in Varna and fought at the Battles of the Alma, Little Inkerman and throughout the Siege of Sevastopol. He corresponded regularly with his family in Scotland about his life at the Front. He published these letters in 1897 in a very limited edition intended for family use. Now the editor W. Alister Williams has supplemented Allan's letters with those from other officers of the regiment and provided a narrative background to the events described. A complete Crimean nominal roll of the officers, non-commissioned officers and the men of the 41st Regiment has been compiled in the appendix. 224pp, illustrated. 2011 first edition.

By April 1939, Edinburgh had 6,000 air raid wardens recruited and under training together with demolition squads, later renamed rescue squads, who had responsibility for demolishing structures which had been damaged and rendered dangerous and also in extricating those who had been trapped beneath rubble. Scotland was of grave strategic importance during the war because of its geographical position, and its capital was the location of a significant number of important military and civil organisations. Edinburgh Castle became the HQ of the Scottish Home Forces, whilst the Forth was a vitally important port and was heavily protected even before the start of the war. Its importance was marked by its attracting the first air raid of the war on mainland Britain, when a force of German bombers were sent to attack naval shipping on 6th October 1939. The raid was intercepted by the RAF which shot down at least two bombers, and the entire action was witnessed by many civilians on the ground. The raid also caused the first civilian casualties when two women were injured in Edinburgh, and two men machine-gunned in Portobello. Thousands lined the streets days later for the funeral of two of the Luftwaffe airmen. No member of the population of Edinburgh escaped the war and huge numbers came forward for service in the military or in roles such as the Home Guard, ARP Services, nursing, working in vital war industries, and struggling to maintain households under strict rationing and the stresses of wartime life, or children evacuated from the city to the rural areas of Scotland to escape the expected bombing. Edinburgh was also home to a sizeable Italian community which was badly affected by internment, and subsequent tight restrictions on movement and civil rights and was subjected to violent attacks when rioting mobs attacked their businesses throughout the city, although one family business was spared because they supported Hibs. The book poignantly commemorates the efforts and achievements of workers, fighters, and families divided. 216pp in well illustrated large softback.

What became known as the Great War began on 4th August 1914. It triggered a wave of patriotism. Scotland led the way with 320,589 men voluntarily enlisting before conscription began in 1916. Scots were in the forefront of many of the costliest battles and campaigns with the outcome that, per head of population, it is estimated by the University of Edinburgh that Scotland lost more men than all the belligerent nations apart from Turkey and Serbia. Anyone with a German sounding accent soon came under suspicion of being a spy. Railways were taken under government control and local businesses asked to supply motor vehicles for use by the Army or to supply horses, of which hundreds of thousands died during the conflict. 'Young men belonging to Edinburgh and the East of Scotland may enrol in the Edinburgh Battalion which is now being formed. All young men in the professional and commercial classes, university graduates, clerks, warehousemen, skilled artisans and athletes (between the ages of 19 and 35 inclusive), who are medically fit and whose height is 5ft 3" and upwards, with chest measurements of 34" at least, are invited to enrol their names now, and those of any friends who may wish to drill and train in the same battalion.' This book covers the historic city's involvement to the armistice in November 1914, describing in great detail what happened to the city and its people, their everyday lives, entertainment, spies and the internment of aliens living within the city. Edinburgh played a key role in supplying not only men but vital munitions and a role in caring for the many wounded soldiers returning from the Front. Of poor quality but nevertheless very interesting are dozens of archive photographs, including a procession of little girls in white dresses and tartan sashes parading along Princes Street carrying banners stating 'We are doing our little bit', a picture of the arrival of Christmas puddings at the Front, and a Shetland pony to be sold for the Red Cross, a sports day for wounded soldiers and the visiting American Ambassador. 141pp, large softback.

Sub-titled 'The Life of Brigadier-General Sir Owen Thomas, MP, Father of the Welsh Army Corps'. Owen Thomas was a farmer and land agent from Llanbadrig, Anglesey, and an enigmatic character throughout his life. Never wishing to break ties with his birthplace, he carved a career for himself as a soldier and agriculture advisor in Africa, and as a pioneer rural Labour Member of Parliament, propelled by a vital and supportive local trade union movement. He is best remembered however as the man responsible for the formation of Lloyd George's Welsh Army Corps, raised in response to Kitchener's appeal for volunteers at the outbreak of the Great War. He persuaded many thousands of his countrymen to join his colours, and when his 'army' marched away from North Wales to face its destiny as the 38th (Welsh) Division, at Mametz Wood on the Somme, he was left behind, a frustrated and deeply hurt man. This biography provides a story full of adventure and promise but which resulted in anguish and pain. Owen Thomas's personal story offers a valuable insight into British colonial expansion in Africa, the response to military recruitment, the first stirrings of a political Labour movement in a rural county and although there is proof that he kept a diary while in East Africa, all his personal papers have been lost and only a handful of private letters have survived. The book is therefore dependent on contemporary newspapers, manuscript sources and official papers. The Welsh author gives due weight to the Anglesey background. 207pp, illus. and maps.

Sub-titled 'The Adventures of The First World War Correspondents from Bonaparte to the Boers', it is not two centuries since a newspaper conceived the idea of sending a reporter overseas to observe, gather information and write about war. The first Special Correspondent was Henry Crabb Robinson who in 1807 was sent by the proprietor of The Times John Walter II to act as their 'Man in Germany', ostensibly to follow and report on the movements of Napoleon's Grande Armée. Robinson was a 32 year old lawyer. He was almost arrested, but escaped from the Continent in disguise, the first of many exploits and adventures of this bold group of individuals who included William Russell in the Crimean War, whose reports helped bring down the government, and perhaps most famous of all Winston Churchill who reported on conflicts in Cuba, the Indian frontier, Sudan and the Boer War. Also includes reportage from Balaklava, the American Civil War, Prussia on the march, into Africa's dark centre, the Zulu War, and Egypt and the Sudan. 236pp, eight pages of photos including William Russell writing in his tent in the Crimean War winter 1854-55 and Felice Beato, the first photographer to capture the reality of war (WARNING - dead bodies at Taku Fort 1860).

Grimsby and Cleethorpes were among the most vulnerable and exposed British towns in August 1914 when the Great War broke out. Situated on the North Sea and facing the German Baltic fleet, their vessels were to face the mines and the U-boat torpedoes as the war progressed. Written into the story are the achievements of the Grimsby Chums and other regiments containing Grimsby men, and the amazing story of the home front experience, from the local shell factory staffed largely by women, to the War Hospital Supply Depot and the Women's Emergency Corps. There were the great fish docks, run by the Great Central Railway and sometimes as many as eight daily express trains to London and other cities distributing the fish. Around the docks there were 587 steam trawlers and a number of sailing smacks, perhaps about 20. Grimsby provided about 8,000 men for the various military and naval units. For the most part these joined the 10th and 11th Lincolns raised by Lord Kitchener's appeal, the 5th, 2/5 5th and 3/5 5th Lincolns, the 1st North Midland Brigade Royal Field Artillery and the Lincolnshire Yeomanry. These various units appear in the pages as events unfold. The shoreline was a priority, mainly for the gun batteries in place, and when the airship attacks began, the volunteers were the men to work with the guns and the searchlights. 128 page large paperback, archive photos.

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.