Charles Messenger

A vivid re-creation of the D-Day invasion and its aftermath, told through detailed maps, authoritative text by a noted military historian and contemporary photographs. This powerful study chronicles the evolution of the invasion plan and culminates in a day-by-day account of the landings by sea and by air on the Normandy beaches, followed by the grim six-week struggle to break through the German defences. An important feature is the space devoted to the German point of view, based on the latest archival research, and the organization of the French Resistance in northern and western France. At the heart of the book are 71 maps in full colour, many drawing in detail on those used by the Allies in 1944. Specially commissioned reconstruction drawings and contemporary photographs help bring the beaches and bocage of Normandy to life.

In early 1942 the Third Reich opened a maximum security Prisoner Of War camp in Lower Silesia for captured Allied airmen. Called Stalag Luft III, the camp soon came to contain some of the most inventive escapers ever known. The escapers were led by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, code-named 'Big X'. In March 1944, Bushell masterminded an attempt to smuggle hundreds of POWs down a tunnel build right under the notes of their guards. In fact, only 79 Allied airmen clambered into the tunnel and only three made successful escapes. This remarkable escape would be immortalised in the famous Hollywood film THE GREAT ESCAPE, in which the bravery of the men was rightly celebrated. Behind the scenes photographs from the film are included in this definitive pictorial work on the most famous POW camp of World War II.

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953) was one of the foremost German commanders of the Second World War. After service on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during 1914-1918 he rose steadily through the ranks before retiring in 1938. Recalled to plan the attack on Poland, he played a leading part in this and the invasion of France in 1940. Thereafter he commanded Army Group South in the assault on Russia before being sacked at the end of 1941. Recalled again, he was made Commander-in-Chief West and as such faced the 1944 Allied invasion of France, but was removed that July. He resumed his post in September 1944 and had overall responsibility for the December 1944 Ardennes counter-offensive. Captured by the Americans, he was handed over to the British, who wanted to try him for war crimes. Only his ill health prevented this from coming about.

Otto Skorzeny, Hitler’s favorite soldier and Germany’s top commando in World War II, is one of the most famous men in the history of special forces. His extraordinary wartime career was one of high risk and adventure, and here he tells the full story. When Mussolini was imprisoned in Italy in 1943, it was Skorzeny who successfully led the daring glider rescue, winning the Knight’s Cross and promotion as a result. Skorzeny’s talents were brought into play again when he was sent to Budapest to stop the Hungarian regent Admiral Horthy from signing a peace treaty with Stalin in 1944. Now dubbed “the most dangerous man in Europe” by the Allies, Skorzeny was awarded the German Cross in Gold. A few months later he took a critical role in the Ardennes offensive with a controversial plan to raise a brigade disguised as Americans with captured Sherman tanks. A fascinating depiction of commando action, Skorzeny’s memoirs are a key addition to special forces literature.

The Royal Tank Regiment celebrates its centenary this year (2017). This, the fourth volume of the Regiment’s history, begins in the midst of the Cold War, with the four RTR regiments mainly based in Germany. They experienced NATO’s rearmament in the early 1980s and the implementation of General Sir Nigel Bagnall’s revolutionary new concept for the defence of the NATO Central Region. The Troubles in Northern Ireland were also at the height and the RTR served there on numerous occasions. In addition, the Regiment saw service with the United Nations in Cyprus. The Berlin Wall came down at the end of 1989, signalling the end of the Cold War. Yet, President Bush’s New World Order proved anything but. Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait resulted in the First Gulf War, in which the Regiment played its part in many ways. However, the so called Peace Dividend meant that the RTR was reduced just two regiments. Then came the horrors of the civil war in former Yugoslavia, in which the Regiment also became involved. While it did operate in tanks in Kosovo, it was also demonstrating its versatility in many other roles in this increasingly uncertain time. Not least was the formation the Joint NBC Regiment, made up of 1 RTR and the RAF Regiment. The RTR was at the forefront of the assault on Basrah in the 2nd Gulf War and thereafter served a number of tours in Iraq. Indeed, the Regiment was among the very last troops to withdraw from the country at the end of Operation Telic in 2009. By this time, the British Army was heavily committed to Afghanistan and the Regiment would spend the next five years deploying on Operation Herrick. As in Iraq, it carried out a variety of missions and in many different types of vehicle. The book makes plain how tough conditions, as in Iraq. The Army, however, faced further reductions and the RTR was cut to a single Challenger 2 regiment. This History not only covers the Regiment’s numerous operational tours. It details the vehicles it has used and provides an idea of how life in the RTR has changed over the past forty years. It does not duck controversy and allows the voices of all ranks to be heard. 'The Tanks' reflects an ever changing British Army, the one constant being the character of the RTR soldier, the Tankie.

The definitive and thrilling history of those who wore the famous green beret.

A hero to the German people of the Third Reich and widely respected by his opponents, Rommel proved himself highly adept at Blitzkrieg warfare. Both in France and North Africa he consistently outwitted his opponents through his ability to sense the weak spot in his enemy's deployment and the pace at which he conducted his operations. Rommel was a master of the "cut and thrust" of desert warfare, especially in his talent to quickly seize the initiative. Rommel's serious wounding in France came just three days before the aborted attempt on Hitler's life. In the witch hunt that followed Rommel came under suspicion of being involved on the plot. In the end he was given the difficult choice of committing suicide or of being put on trial and thus endangering the lives of his beloved wife and son. He took the honourable way out and, with a cynicism that characterized the Nazi regime, was given a state funeral.

A comprehensive account of modern conflict which traces the causes of wars in the international arena, their course and how peace was made, and describes in detail how battle has changed with the huge development in weapons technology that the century has brought.