Kirjahaku

From the end of 1941 to 1945 a pivotal but often overlooked conflict was being fought in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War 2 - the Burma Campaign.In 1941 the Allies fought in a disastrous retreat across Burma against the Japanese - an enemy more prepared, better organised and more powerful than anyone had imagined. Yet in 1944, following key battles at Kohima and Imphal, and daring operations behind enemy lines by the Chindits, the Commonwealth army were back, retaking lost ground one bloody battle at a time.Fighting in dense jungle and open paddy field, this brutal campaign was the longest fought by the British Commonwealth in the Second World War. But the troops taking part were a forgotten army, and the story of their remarkable feats and their courage remains largely untold to this day.The Fourteenth Army in Burma became one of the largest and most diverse armies of the Second World War. British, West African, Ghurkha and Indian regiments fought alongside one another and became comrades. In Forgotten Voices of Burma - a remarkable new oral history taken from Imperial War Museum's Sound Archive - soldiers from both sides tell their stories of this epic conflict.

‘Between Friday and Monday we never slept at all. Everyone’s face was one mass of sand … The guns were so hot, all the paint had gone’ Bombardier Ray EllisHad the Allies lost in North Africa, Rommel’s Afrika Korps would have swept through the Middle East, cutting the vital supply line through the Suez Canal to Australia and India, and taking the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Britain would have been isolated, without oil, and unable to fight.These historic battles of 1940–1943 were fought over vast distances on rugged terrain, with supply lines often stretched to breaking point. It was here that David Stirling formed the SAS to perform audacious sabotage missions, and the Long Range Desert Group collected intelligence from behind enemy lines.This is the story of the Allies’ first victory against Hitler’s army, told in the voices of the men who were there, which proved that the seemingly unstoppable Germans could be beaten.

Masters of the Battlefield examines the lives and tactics of 28 of the world's greatest military leaders, from Julius Caesar to Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf. Arranged chronologically, each general is represented by a double-page spread containing a biography, a list of his most important dates and battles and a map showing all his campaigns. Each commander's most famous victory is illustrated and described in detail on a specially commissioned step-by-step full-colour battle map. Written by one of Britain's most successful commanders, Major General Thompson, whose expert analysis provides a rich commentary on each individual genius, from Alexander the Great to Hannibal, Rommel to MacArthur up to Norman Schwarzkopf. This is military history writing at its best.

World War II from Above offers a never-before-seen combination of annotated satellite images and expertly drawn battle maps. It aims to satisfy both the military history buff and those seeking a visually stunning history gift book, bringing the war vividly and dramatically to life by showing the actual landscapes where battles took place along with specially commissioned annotations depicting remarkable events, troop movements, heroic last stands, or even where individual soldiers stood or fell. Each of the 25 chapters features an enhanced Google Earth image, along with specially commissioned battle maps showing every facet of the conflict in exceptional detail. Here you will find all the key milestones of World War II: the invasion of France, Germany's first blitzkrieg offensives, the Battle of Alamein, Monte Cassino, Arnhem, the invasion of Sicily, the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, D-Day and the final push to Berlin, along with a host of other strategic and battle maps from every geographical location. Written by a highly decorated soldier and leading military history expert, this is an innovative, richly detailed and visually stunning overview of history's most destructive conflict.

This book, published to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the last to be commemorated by significant numbers of surviving veterans – is a graphic account of the storming and taking of Hitler's Festung Europa ('Fortress Europe') by the Allies during the final eleven months of the Second World War. From the long-awaited opening of the second front in the West on D-Day, 6 June 1944, to the final surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945, the Allied armies in north-west Europe under the supreme command of Eisenhower fought a gruelling series of battles against Axis forces hardened by years of war and desperate to defend their homeland from destruction. This book shows the relentless progress of the epic war in the European Theatre of Operations, and focuses on the world-famous engagements such as Operation Market Garden (immortalised in the film A Bridge too Far), the Battle of the Bulge (the largest land battle fought by American troops in the Second World War), the Bridge at Remagen, the bombing of Dresden and other German cities, the discovery of the concentration camps, the US link-up with the Red Army on the Elbe, the fall of Berlin, the German surrender and VE Day itself. Written by a leading military historian, Julian Thompson, Victory in Europe contains 30 facsimile items of the Second World War reproduced throughout the book. The reader can re-live this momentous period of history by examining maps, diaries, letters, sketches, secret memos and reports, posters and labels which up till now have remained filed or exhibited in the Imperial War Museum and other museum collections in Northern Europe and America.

Celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day in this fully illustrated insight into the final months of the Second World War.From the long-awaited opening of the second front in the West on D-Day, 6 June 1944, to the final surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945, the Allied armies in north-west Europe under the supreme command of Eisenhower fought a gruelling series of battles against Axis forces hardened by years of war and desperate to defend their homeland from destruction.Written by a leading military historian, Julian Thompson, Victory in Europe contains 30 facsimile items of Second World War reproduced throughout the book. Re-live this momentous period of history through maps, diaries, letters, sketches, secret memos and reports, posters and labels all sourced from the archives of the Imperial War Museums.

A masterly work of military history, Dunkirk: Retreat to Victory is also a tribute to the soldiers whose courage and self belief sustained them through their darkest hours.The evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk is one of the pivotal moments in the Second World War – an astonishing endeavour that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Sent to help the Belgians and French hold back the German army, the small British Expeditionary Force was ill-equipped and under-trained. When Hitler attacked on 10 May 1940 and the French and Belgian armies collapsed in the face of Germany's swift and brutal advance, the British soldiers found themselves in mortal danger.In Dunkirk: Retreat to Victory, Major General Julian Thompson recreates the action as the British fought hard for three desperate weeks, conducting a successful fighting withdrawal in the face of a formidable foe. He describes the individual acts of bravery and sacrifice and analyses the decisions of the commanders who made the choice to evacuate. He also takes us to Dunkirk harbour and onto the beaches, where the British army was trapped and under attack, while the Royal Navy and the 'little ships' raced against time to rescue them.

Major General Julian Thompson first wrote No Picnic when the momentous events of April - June 1982 were fresh in his mind. As Commander of 3 Commando Brigade, he was at the heart of the planning and conduct of the War. Under his direct command had been the Royal Marine Commandos and the two battalions of the Parachute Regiment who conducted the lion's share of the fighting.No-one therefore is better qualified to tell the extraordinary story of there-taking of the Falkland Islands from the Argentinians. The author, now a celebrated military historian, has revised his early book and added for this 25 Anniversary edition more of his own personal thoughts and impressions.It is all too easy to overlook just how perilous and risky a venture this expedition to the depths of the Southern Hemisphere was. Victory and defeat hung in the balance. Even those who feel they know about this most remarkable of wars will learn more from reading this classic account.