Pen & Sword Books

Trailblazing medieval women who defied silence and shaped history as rulers, consorts, warriors, authors, and visionaries.«The greatest glory for a woman is not to be spoken of at all, either for good or ill," declared Pericles. For centuries, this sentiment echoed through the corridors of history, shaping a narrative that often confined women to silence, invisibility and the margins of power. But history is far richer and more complex than we’ve been led to believe.This book reveals the lives of remarkable, trailblazing medieval women who refused to be written out of history. In a world dominated by men, they defied convention, challenged gender expectations, and carved out legacies as rulers, consorts, warriors, authors, and visionaries. From Anglo-Saxon female rulership to the political intrigue of the Wars of the Roses, these women stepped beyond the roles assigned to them and transformed the world around them, as well as the course of history.Through meticulous research, this book brings their voices to the fore, revealing the impact they had not only in their own time but on the generations that followed. These are not just tales of exception, but of courage, intellect, and influence—testaments to the fact that women have always shaped history.Their names deserve to be remembered. Their stories deserve to be told.

Through British lives, the American Revolution emerges as a global struggle over liberty’s meaning, before 1776.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…In the summer of 1776, colonial delegates gathered in Philadelphia to debate words that would found a new nation: the United States of America. Yet the ideas, arguments, and anxieties behind that pivotal moment were forged not only across the Atlantic, but in Britain.This book tells the story of American independence from the British side, following five sharply contrasting lives in the run up to 1776, all championing liberty, though rarely agreeing on what that meant in practice. Through the eyes of a king, a statesman, a general, a radical, and a diplomat, it explores a revolution that was as much about competing visions of freedom as it was about a rebellion against perceived tyranny.Blending narrative history with a curated guidebook, each chapter concludes with a place-based tour that enables you to walk in the footsteps of these individuals. Walk London with King George III and Benjamin Franklin, trace Lord North’s formative years in Oxfordshire, and explore Sussex with General Thomas Gage and the incendiary Thomas Paine. You’ll climb towers, wander wooded hills, and tread creaking floors worn smooth by centuries of footsteps; standing where decisions were made that reshaped empires and identities.This book offers a fresh perspective on a well-known story. It reveals the American Revolution not as a simple tale of tyranny and resistance, but as a shared, ongoing global struggle over the meaning of liberty itself.

Aviation graveyards reveal hidden, astonishing remnants of machines amid deserts, seas, and secrecy.The study of aviation graveyards is a much maligned area of death research. The final resting place of sizeable non-organic beasts is routinely overlooked, yet it is still, in every respect, a graveyard and deserves to be recognised as such. From an extensive desert necropoli to a war-torn underwater mausoleum, very little of the world remains untouched by the boneyard phenomenon, and less has been written about these remarkable cemeteries. With a significant percentage still languishing in ‘Top Secret’ facilities, hidden behind barbed wire-fences and gated perimeters, it is hardly surprising. Nonetheless, advancements in technology has enabled those with an adventurous spirit, armchair or otherwise, to peel back these layers of secrecy and take a sneaky peak at the skeletal remains of once aeronautic marvels, the findings of which are truly astonishing.Boneyards of Steel — Exploring the World’s Aircraft Graveyards aims to take the reader on a flight of discovery, a mechanical odyssey of detection, unearthing the remains of aircraft in some of the planets most inhospitable regions, breathing new life into a wide-ranging collection of machine-driven detritus, metaphorically speaking, and, more significantly, to bring awareness to an often forgotten yet invaluable heritage.

Donald Simpson Bell VC emerges as England’s first footballer awarded posthumous heroism through wartime valor and enduring legacy.This is the full and compelling story of Donald Simpson Bell VC — the only English professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War. Told for the first time through extensive new research and unprecedented access to the Bell family’s private archive of letters, diaries, and photographs, it reveals a vivid and deeply intimate portrait of the man known affectionately as ‘Don.’Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material, the author explores the relationships and influences that shaped Bell’s life. From his formative years in the picturesque spa town of Harrogate, where family and faith provided constant direction, through his time at Westminster Training College in London, his return to Yorkshire as a schoolteacher and modest fame on the football field, and finally his transition to army life and active service in France.Bell’s footballing career — later balanced with his classroom duties — is examined in detail, from early amateur promise at Newcastle United and Bishop Auckland, to his first professional contract and subsequent Football League debut with Bradford Park Avenue. The book charts Bell’s rise through the game, revealing the rare blend of discipline, determination and integrity that forged his character long before he set foot on the battlefield.Using painstaking military research and eyewitness testimony, the author reconstructs the dramatic events of July 1916 in vivid detail — from the audacious assault at Horseshoe Trench that saw Bell receive a posthumous Victoria Cross, to a remarkably similar act of gallantry at Contalmaison five days later that claimed his life. Both actions are analysed in depth, with comprehensive archival research offering fresh insight into the circumstances surrounding his final days.The book also considers the profound impact of Bell’s death on those who knew him best, and the lasting ways in which the footballing world has commemorated his sacrifice — both at the time and more than a century later.Meticulously researched and deeply moving, this is the first gripping and complete portrait of Donald Simpson Bell VC — one of English football’s true heroes.

Scott White confronts brutal combat zones and the PTSD that follows, revealing the survivor’s defiant resolve.Scott White’s journey began in Edinburgh, Scotland, where at the age of 25 he stepped into the unforgiving world of private security. He trained alongside former special forces instructors, learning the intricacies of Close Protection from weapons handling, specialist driving, tactics, and how to keep calm in chaos. For six years, working in Europe and the UK, he lived in the shadows of high-threat assignments, protecting VIPs in a game where hesitation could be fatal.But the biggest leap came at 31, when Scott became a Private Military Contractor and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — two of the most dangerous places on earth at the height of their wars. For seven long years, he moved through blown-out cities and scorched desert roads, escorting high-value targets under fire, running convoys through kill zones, and staring down death more times than he can remember. The days bled into nights filled with bombings, ambushes, gunfights and the constant hum of dread. And yet, in that madness, something beautiful grew — the brotherhood. The deep, unspoken bond between men who would die for each other without hesitation.While some of those men became brothers for life, others didn’t make it home, and far too many made it back in body, but never in mind. Some took their own lives. Others drifted into the slow suicide of addiction, and Scott was no different. Flashbacks. Guilt. The crushing silence no one back home could break. He lost his marriage, his family, his home. And in the darkness of it all, he lost himself. But somewhere, something began to shift. Slowly, painfully, he began to piece himself back together.This is a personal story of the journey of survival, of both brutal combat zones and the PTSD that followed. It is about what the war takes from you, and the silent, defiant choice to keep going.

Lieutenant General William Yarborough redefined American airborne capability through pioneering doctrine, equipment, and elite forces.Lieutenant General William Pelham Yarborough stands as a titan of the United States’ military innovation in the twentieth-century. His name is synonymous with the development of America’s airborne and Special Forces capabilities. Yet, despite his monumental influence through a career spanning four decades of pivotal global conflict and Cold War maneuvering, Yarborough remains for many a historical enigma figure whose name graces institutions but whose full, complex story resonates with an intriguing blend of mystery, myth, and speculation.Yarborough pioneered the modern American paratrooper, being instrumental in designing the iconic US Army parachutist badge, jump boots, and specialized airborne equipment (for which he held patents), effectively sculpting the image of America’s Second World War airborne soldier. He commanded the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in key operations from North Africa (Operation Torch — America’s first combat parachute mission) through Italy (Anzio) and into Southern France (Operation Dragoon). Yarborough later led the 473rd Infantry Regiment in the final victorious offensives in Italy.As Commander of the Special Warfare Center from 1961 to 1965, Yarborough tirelessly developed core Special Forces doctrine, established rigorous and innovative training programs (including the vital Language School), and spearheaded the expansion of the force. In this respect, Yarborough played the decisive role in securing President John F. Kennedy’s official authorization for the Green Beret as the distinctive headgear of Special Forces, cementing their unique identity.Held also critical high-level roles, including as the U.N. Military Armistice Commission’s representative in Korea, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence during a turbulent period, Commander of I Corps in Korea, and Deputy CINC/Chief of Staff of US Army Pacific.William Yarborough was also an influential military writer, being the author of books and numerous articles on unconventional warfare, airborne operations, and military history throughout his career and active retirement.Drawn extensively on Lieutenant General Yarborough’s personal and professional papers, in this meticulously researched account Christopher Mullins has produced the first biography of a remarkable man whose full, complex story has remained largely unchronicled — until now.

Nazi missile ventures ushered in a deadly new era of warfare and terror.When Nazi Germany invented long-range missiles, the world entered a new era of warfare. In a desperate bid to turn the tide of the Second World War, Hitler pinned his hopes on a terrifying arsenal of so-called Wunderwaffe — ‘wonder weapons’ — designed for mass destruction and psychological terror.This richly illustrated Images of War book offers a comprehensive look at the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 ballistic missile, known collectively as the Vergeltungswaffen or ‘retaliatory weapons’. With 150 rare and previously unpublished photographs, alongside in-depth analysis through supplementary text and detailed captions, it chronicles the development of these groundbreaking weapons, the construction of launch sites and missile manufacturing with the use of slave labour from concentration camps like Mittelbau-Dora.From the initial V-1 static launch sites of northern France, particularly in the Pas-de-Calais region, to the shift toward mobile V-2 launchers that rained destruction not only on London and other cities in England but mainland Europe, principally in France and Belgium, this book reveals the full story behind Hitler’s technological last stand. Though these weapons failed to alter the outcome of the war, they marked the dawn of a new and deadly era in military history and were responsible for 18,000 deaths, mostly civilians.A gripping and meticulously researched photographic account of ambition, cruelty and the race for technological supremacy, V-1, V-2 and V-3 Launch Sites is essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War, military innovation or the dark legacy of Nazi science.

Al Pacino’s career unfolds as a transformative journey from humble beginnings to enduring cinematic masterfulness.The Real Al Pacino: His Defining Roles offers an unprecedented journey through the career of one of cinema's greatest actors, from his humble beginnings in the South Bronx to becoming a Hollywood legend. Author Tom Brogan delivers an intimate portrait that goes far beyond Pacino's most famous roles, exploring the defining performances that shaped both his career and American culture.This isn't just another celebrity biography—it's a masterclass in understanding how an actor transforms from struggling theatre performer to iconic movie star. The book traces Pacino's evolution through breakthrough stage performances like The Indian Wants the Bronx and Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, his career-defining film roles in The Godfather, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Scarface, right through to his later television triumphs in Angels in America and You Don't Know Jack.What sets this book apart is its focus on the craft of acting itself. Brogan reveals how Pacino's collaborations with legendary figures like Lee Strasberg, Sidney Lumet, Francis Ford Coppola, and David Mamet shaped his approach to character development. The book explores his notorious preparation methods, his struggles with fame, and his unwavering commitment to the stage despite Hollywood success.With insights into behind-the-scenes moments, production challenges, and Pacino's relationships with co-stars like Robert De Niro, John Cazale, and Meryl Streep, this comprehensive biography captures the essence of an actor who never stopped searching for truth in his performances. For film enthusiasts, theatre lovers, and anyone fascinated by the art of acting, this is the definitive account of Al Pacino's extraordinary journey.

Mileham chronicles Britain's cavalry regiments from Cromwell’s forces through Charles II’s era to the eve of World War II.Patrick Mileham's scholarly and well illustrated history of Britain's cavalry regiments takes the story from early roots in Cromwell's army, through their formation over 350 years ago during the reign of Charles II, and follows their history to the eve of the Second World War.He describes the part they played in Britain’s wars and in peacetime, and he shows their line of descent across the centuries. As he does so, he celebrates the extraordinary continuity of the cavalry spirit which endures as a powerful force in the cavalry regiments of today’s Royal Armoured Corps. Their history forms part of the fabric of British military and social life, and his authoritative study is the perfect guide.As well as recording the fascinating history of the cavalry regiments, and illustrating it in a sequence of striking and rare images, Patrick Mileham includes succession charts showing the complex sequence of amalgamations and disbandments which has shaped the cavalry to date. So his book is essential reading, both as a graphic account of cavalry and invaluable work of reference for anyone who has a special interest in the history of the cavalry and the British army.

Greeks embraced gladiators, transforming a foreign spectacle into an unmistakable celebration of Greekness.It was once assumed that the sophisticated ancient Greeks rejected Roman gladiators as the most barbaric cultural import possible. Surely Greeks who loved philosophy and theatre wouldn’t approve of men fighting to the death? The Romans must have forced Greeks to watch against their will, surely? As Alexandra Sills demonstrates in this groundbreaking new study, the truth could not be more different; Greeks across the eastern Mediterranean adored gladiators on an unprecedented scale. Having first explained the political and ideological function of gladiators in Rome, the author reveals why the Greeks ditched all of the boring imperialism for their own, very Greek take on gladiatorial entertainment.The Greeks saw gladiators as the perfect amalgamation of everything they loved best: the drama of mythical duels, the brutal contact sports of the Olympic Games, and the visual perfection of a honed physique. Readers will discover how a very famous Roman was beaten to introducing gladiators to the Greeks by a whole century, by a Hellenistic king once held hostage in Rome, and how another famous Roman kept a troop of gladiators in Turkey to impress his Egyptian girlfriend. There are more commemorative monuments to Greek gladiators than the rest of Europe combined, and they provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives and deaths of these ancient combatants. Gladiators in Greece, unlike anywhere else in the Empire, tell us their stories in their own words. The Greeks under Roman rule took a foreign sport and moulded it into the ultimate celebration of Greekness, with more drama and flair than Rome could ever imagine.

Olga of Kyiv emerges as a formidable reformer whose calculated brutality solidified governance and reshaped Rus.Olga of Kyiv, the first female ruler of the Rus, was a leader unlike any other. Best remembered for her ruthless revenge against the Derevlians—the tribe that murdered her husband—Olga’s calculated brutality secured her grip on power and cemented her legend. Yet she was more than just a warrior queen. Her rule reshaped the Rus, introducing political and administrative reforms that strengthened the state, centralised governance, and fortified cities. She established a structured tribute system, secured key alliances with Constantinople, and laid the foundation for the Christianisation of the Rus. Her infamous Siege of Iskorosten showcased her mastery of psychological warfare, proving that her mind was as sharp as any blade. A ruler of vision, resilience, and contradiction, Olga’s legacy shaped Eastern Europe and paved the way for the rise of one of the most powerful medieval states.

The interwar era reveals nations shaping tank doctrine and types amid costly investments and evolving strategies.After the First World War, many countries faced the question of ‘what to do with the tank next?’ The tank had undoubtedly proven its worth on the battlefield, but not everyone was convinced, particularly because nobody had yet established a proper doctrine for how to deploy it in a future conflict.The interwar period shows that each country shaped the future deployment of the tank and the corresponding tank types in its own way. These were not arbitrary exercises, as investments in tank development and production were substantial, and switching to a different doctrine and tank type was not an option. This book reflects this search. However, the fact that the Germans ultimately found the right combination of doctrine and tanks with the phenomenon that was ‘Blitzkrieg’, does not detract from the interesting ideas, efforts and choices of other countries.The career of Heinz Guderian beautifully illustrates all these discussions cumulating in the development, rise, and fall of German Panzerwaffe before and during the Second World War. For this reason, he forms the central thread of this book, around which the development of the tank is wrapped.

The 4th County of London Yeomanry Sharpshooters advance from D-Day to liberation, revealing a crewman’s endurance and pivotal battles.By the afternoon of 6 June 1944 — D-Day — the men and Sherman tanks of the 4th County of London Yeomanry, the Sharpshooters, found themselves in their landing craft just off the Normandy beaches waiting to go ashore. It was around sunset the following morning that they began to be land on the sweeping sands of Gold Beach.From there, the Sharpshooters immediately moved inland to support the expanding Allied beachhead. In the days that followed, 4 CLY advanced south toward Tilly-sur-Seulles, fighting in the restrictive bocage countryside alongside the 50th (Northumbrian) Division. On 13 June, the regiment became embroiled in the dramatic battle at Villers-Bocage, one of the most famous tank actions of the Normandy campaign. During the events that day, ‘A’ Squadron was ambushed by SS-Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann’s Tiger I, suffering heavy losses. One of the men in ‘A’ Squadron, and more specifically 1 Troop, was John Fisher. Having enlisted in Derby in 1943, John eventually found himself posted to the 4th County of London Yeomanry as a crewman in one of its Sherman tanks. Having survived the initial maelstrom of Operation Overlord, John, and indeed the rest of 4 CLY, remained engaged throughout the Normandy Campaign. Having participated in Operation Bluecoat, an offensive against German forces in the Caen region, the survivors battled on across northern France. After pushing the enemy back across the Seine, they then advanced through Belgium and into the Netherlands.In 1945, John took part in the final assault on Germany itself, supporting attacks across the Rhine. By the time of the Third Reich’s surrender in May 1945, the Sharpshooters, John included, had reached the River Elbe and the city of Hamburg. Sherman Tank Crewman is his account of the part he played in the liberation of Europe.

Jack Sowter’s wartime escape tenacity defines a daring, perilous fight for freedom behind enemy lines.Sergeant Jack Sowter had joined the RAF in October 1941, originally as a trainee wireless operator. He later re-mustered as a navigator and joined the crew of a Handley Page Halifax of 78 Squadron.On the night of 27/28 July 1943, Jack’s aircraft, JD 148, was one of 787 bombers tasked with attacking the port of Hamburg as part of Operation Gomorrah. Having successfully unleashed its deadly load on the German city, Jack’s captain, Sergeant Les Maidment, turned for home. However, Maidment could not escape the penetrating beams of the German searchlights, nor the enemy flak. With his aircraft repeatedly hit, Maidment gave his crew the order to bale out.Four of the seven crew survived to become prisoners of war. One of those was Jack Sowter. Despite a severe ankle injury, he managed to evade the searching enemy patrols for two days before he was captured.Like many captured Allied airmen, Jack was initially taken to the Dulag Luft, a transit and interrogation camp. There he was reunited with the other three surviving members of his crew. He ended up at Stalag Luft VIB, the most northerly of the PoW camps within the Reich. It was not until 1944, that, at long last, Jack’s first real chance to escape came — but this taste of freedom did not last long.Yet, just eight days after being returned to Stalag Luft VIB, Jack was on the top of the escape list once again. This time, he and three others escaped from a working party; at a railway station they encountered a boxcar that was marked ‘Geneva’. This dream of neutrality and freedom was quickly shattered when the only boxcar they could enter was marked ‘Hanover’. It was, though, nearer to home than Stalag Luft VIB. Unfortunately, their journey ended in the hands of the German police.Jack sought every opportunity to escape his captors. It became an obsession, and his story abounds with inventive schemes, of hidden saw blades and ineffective wire cutters. Jack tells of his fellow prisoners and life in captivity. His memoirs culminate with the day the prisoners awoke to find their guards had disappeared and how, on this occasion, his last bid for freedom was a permanent one.

Stubborn partisan warfare behind German lines reshaped the Soviet drive toward Berlin and intensified the war’s hidden costs.After the disastrous Battle of Kursk in July 1943, the Soviets went on the offensive. A series of counterattacks began all along the Eastern Front that would eventually lead the Red Army to the Nazi capital in less than two years. One of these, Operation Bagration, fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944, resulted in the largest defeat in German military history.Coordinating with these huge Soviet forces were the partisans, who would be instrumental in destroying rail lines, lines of communication, German munitions and supply depots behind the German lines before the Red Army would make its attack. Quite often increased partisan activity behind the lines indicated to the Germans exactly where the next Red Army offensive would be launched.By the beginning of 1944 it was clear to all but the most naïve or the most fanatical that Germany’s back was against the wall; for the Wehrmacht, the war in the East was not going well. One did not need to see the calamites happening to the Ostheer (the German eastern army) on the front lines to realize this. All one had to do was to look at the rising partisan threat and the growing chaos behind the German lines to appreciate that fact.From the German point of view, something drastic had to be done. In the spring of 1944, the Germans launched a series of new anti-partisan offensives in their rear areas. The intention was to eliminate the partisan threat that was not only helping to impede the arrival of men and materiel to the front but was also a threat to German forces in case they needed to withdraw. Nowhere was this more of a clear and present danger to German forces than in Belarus, where some 180,000 guerrillas were now operating. Indeed, entire regions of the German rear area were totally controlled by the partisans.By the time that Stalin initiated the Bagration offensive, the fight behind the lines had undoubtedly become a war within a war. Drawing on hundreds of archive documents, Dr. Muñoz examines in detail this kaleidoscope of bitter fighting, heartless cruelty and danger, as the last year of the partisan war in the Soviet Union unfolded.

The recapture of Guam in 1944 marked a pivotal moment in the Pacific War, symbolizing American resilience and strategic advance against Japan's Imperial forces.At 16.00 hours on 27 July 1944, the Stars and Stripes were raised over the central Pacific island of Guam. The symbolism of this moment was not lost on the officers and men who saluted the raising of Old Glory. This was because the first American flag to be pulled down by the Japanese in the Second World War was in Guam, on 10 December 1941, just three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.Before the war three of the four main Mariana Islands — Saipan, Tinian and Rota — had substantial Japanese populations and were considered part of the Japanese empire. On the other hand, the largest island of the group, Guam, had been under American administration since the end of the nineteenth century, and its inhabitants saw themselves as Americans. Their liberation would be a ‘psychological high point’ in the long war against Imperial Japan for the people of the United States.The re-capture of Guam was more than just the recovery of lost territory. It was an essential element of Operation Forager, the US offensive to take the Mariana and Palau islands with the aim of neutralizing Japanese bases in the central Pacific and supporting the Allied drive to retake the Philippines. There was another factor which possibly was of even more significance. Prototypes of the new Boeing B-29 Superfortress were already being flown. The B-29 had an operational range of 3,500 miles, putting the Japanese Home Islands, and even Tokyo itself, well within striking distance of the Marianas. It would be from the Marianas that the strategic bombing campaign which helped bring Japan to its knees in 1945 would be carried out.The US assault upon the Marianas began with the attacks upon Saipan and Tinian. Then, on 21 July 1944, men of the III Marine Amphibious Corps landed on Guam after the longest preparatory bombardment of the war in the Pacific. For the next twenty days the Marines and the US Army’s 77th Division struggled through dense undergrowth and jungle and over rugged, wooded mountains to eliminate an enemy determined to fight to the death — and die they did. Roasted alive by flamethrowers in dugouts and caves, blasted out of ill-prepared pillboxes by artillery and mowed down by the score in senseless, tactically naïve headlong charges, almost the entire 20,000 strong Japanese garrison was killed.In the savage struggle throughout the island, American casualties were in excess of 6,000 and many hundreds of civilians were also killed in the fighting. But, after more than two-and-a-half years of Japanese occupation, honor was finally restored in the Central Pacific.

Madeline Smith’s remarkable life journey reveals how talent, resilience, and iconic 60s to 80s roles shaped a enduring, inspirational career.Madeline Smith’s career began suddenly — shop girl in a London suburb one week, modelling for rising fashion chain BiBa the next and then a nationally recognized face soon after. It was 1967 and Maddie never looked back.Telling her story for the first time, despite many calls for her to tell her own story, Maddie has decided to take us on a very personal journey through her eventful life — a book for all people that reminisce about the 60s, 70s and 80’s and provided by a star with a zest for life that was always the hallmark of her smile, personality and humility.This book appeals to many audiences — James Bond enthusiasts for her role as Roger Moore’s first Bond Girl in Live and Let Die (1973) and fans of Hammer Horror films, where Maddie remains an iconic figure from playing opposite Peter Cushing and Vincent Price in The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Theatre of Blood (1973). Maddie’s roles in Carry On Matron in 1972 and The Amazing Mr Blunden bring back to life talented stars now long forgotten and are supplemented by anecdotes on Tony Curtis in The Persuaders, Ronnie Barker in The Two Ronnies, Leslie Phillips in Casanova ’73 and Christopher Timothy in All Creatures Great and Small. Passionate about theatre, Maddie talks about her roles with Alec Guiness, Donald Sinden and Brian Cox, and her friendships with Rob Stewart and Richard Harris.Working alongside experienced writer and biographer Philip Kay-Bujak, this opportunity to share with us her personal battles, tragedies and achievements joins with her philosophy on growing old and will inspire anyone that reads it. This is a book that is long overdue and proves that stars like Madeline Smith truly Live and Never Let Die.

This documentary exposes how postwar networks and legendary myths shield Nazi crimes from accountability.The Last Secrets of the Nazis is a documentary-style investigation into the most sensational, disputed, and mythologised aspects of the history of the Third Reich — from the corridors of power and clandestine operations to the post-war hideouts of Nazi criminals. Drawing on archival records, eyewitness testimonies, and recent scholarship, the author revisits cases that continue to fire the imagination: Rudolf Hess’s secret flight to Britain, Heinrich Himmler’s “shadow game” with the Allies, attempts at a separate peace, and the backstage decisions taken in the twilight of the Reich.At its core, the book presents a gallery of Nazi criminals and regime insiders — Mengele, Reinefarth, von Alvensleben, Eichmann, Stangl, Rauff, Skorzeny, Degrelle and others — whose post-1945 trajectories expose the extent of post-war impunity, escape networks, and the silent protection offered by the Church, intelligence services, and Western governments. The author reconstructs the mechanisms of escape to South America, underground lives in Europe, and the later efforts of “Nazi hunters” such as Simon Wiesenthal and Beate and Serge Klarsfeld.Drozdowski also dissects the darker symbols and myths: Werwolf and the supposed “Nazi underground”, ODESSA, the “Alpine Fortress” legend, the German nuclear project and Wunderwaffe, Lebensborn as a “factory of the master race”, the mystery of the last U-boats, Hitler’s special train “Amerika/Brandenburg”, and Operation Paperclip, through which American services recruited former Nazi scientists. He confronts these stories with the documentary record to show where thriller-like legend ends and hard history begins — and how the unresolved, distorted, or deliberately buried episodes of this past still burden our memory of the Second World War.

Britons faced dual enemies as post-Roman military systems merged with pre-Roman traditions, shaping Sub-Roman warfare across Britain.Following the evacuation of the Roman troops after AD 410, Britain entered a period characterized by the co-existence of competing military systems. The Britons, who had been progressively ‘Romanized’ during the previous centuries, retained many elements of the military organization that was typical of the Late Empire; these, however, were mixed with important components drawn from pre-Roman Celtic tradition. In Wales the ‘Romanization’ of the local population had never been complete and the Britons from this region fought in a way that had evolved relatively little from the pre-Roman era. The military forces of Sub-Roman Britain faced two main kinds of enemies from the early fifth century AD, the Celtic peoples coming from Scotland or Ireland and the Germanic communities coming from Continental Europe, each bringing distinctive styles of warfare and equipment drawing on their own traditions.Gabriele Esposito details the military campaigns that took place in Britain from the mid-fifth century AD to the final phase of Saxon expansion. He describes how the Late Roman system of military defence crumbled in Britannia and how its remnants gave birth to the Sub-Roman armies of the so-called ‘Arthurian Age’. He considers the most recent theories regarding the historicity of the figure of Arthur, and provides full detail on the military history of the Britons’ enemies: Picts, Scots, Saxons, Angles and Jutes. The greatest attention is given to detailed descriptions of the organization, equipment and tactics of the various military forces, with numerous colour photographs showing replica weapons, armour and costume in use.

For many wargamers, WW2 is synonymous with large fleets of tanks and other AFVs battling each other across the European countryside in the early Blitzkrieg campaigns or sweeping across the Western Desert in North Africa. Here Andy Singleton lends the benefit of his experience as a professional modeller and painter to help you get your own armoured force ready for battle. Andy starts by discussing the tools and materials required and explaining some basic techniques, such as dry-brushing and stippling.The author then moves on to detailed step-by-step instructions colour schemes and markings of each of the major combatants of this period in the West, British and Commonwealth, Polish, French, German and Italian are all covered in detail. Each step is illustrated by a colour photo, paint number and the type and size of brush used, and there are variants for use with or without an airbrush. Adding national emblems and other markings, either freehand or by using transfers, is also covered.In addition to the basic paint scheme there is guidance for adding weathering effects and wear and tear, such as dust, desert sand or chipped paint, as well as providing some historical context for all the paint and marking schemes covered. Throughout, it is packed with useful tips and tricks of the trade.