A LIFE IN THE DAY OF A C.R.A.: THE
STORY OF A COLD WAR SOLDIER
by Brigadier Richard
Mountford
C.R.A. is the well known military abbreviation for a Commander,
Royal Artillery, a position the author filled twice during the
Cold War with responsibilities from northern Norway to eastern
Turkey, but predominated on the northern plains of West Germany
where the cauldron of war would have been centred should World War
3 have started. That it did not, owes much to the dedication of
hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers whose presence deterred a
Warsaw Pact attack. These soldiers were ready for war 24 hours a
day for 365 days a year, for over 40 years.
New in card cover - 200pp, 19 b/w & 20 colour photos
Sir Douglas Haig was commander-in-chief of the largest army his
country had ever put into the field. He has been portrayed as both
an incompetent ‘butcher and bungler’ and a clear-sighted ‘architect
of victory’. This new account dispels such stereotypes. A dedicated
military professional, Haig nevertheless found it difficult to
adjust to the unprecedented conditions of the Western Front. He
bears much responsibility for British losses 1915–17 that were
excessive in relation to the results achieved. After the German
spring offensives of 1918, Haig played a vital role in the campaign
that finally broke the German army.
New in d/w -
652pp, b/w illustrations, maps
Cambridge University Press, 2008
ISBN 9780521898027
The replacement for
the 6-pdr anti-tank gun, the 17-pdr saw use as field artillery as
well as tank-mounted ordnance. 1:35 scale drawings by Karl Gagnon.
The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce concept dates from 1974 when the
Air Force acquired the MG151 20mm cannon. Coupled with this, the
traditional counter-insurgency tactics (against Mugabe’s ZANLA and
Nkomo’s ZIPRA) of follow-ups, tracking and ambushing simply
weren’t producing satisfactory results. Visionary air force and
Infantry officers expanded on the idea of a ‘vertical envelopment’
of the enemy by Alouette III helicopters, directing air deployed
ground forces supported by ground-attack aircraft armed with
napalm, white phosphorus rockets and a variety of
Rhodesian-designed ordnance.
New with DVD in slipcase - 256pp, c100 colour & b/w photos, illustrations &
Maps
OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES 23: FINNISH ACES OF
WORLD WAR 2
by Kari Stenman & Kalevi Keskinen
Always outnumbered by their Soviet opponents, the small band of
Finnish fighter pilots defended their Scandinavian homeland in
three separate wars between 1939 and 1945, amassing scores only
bettered by the Luftwaffe's Jagdflieger. Initially equipped with a
motley collection of biplane and monoplane fighters, the Finnish
Air Force was thrust into combat through the invasion of its
eastern border in November 1939. The Finnish fighter pilots
confounded the sceptics and decimated the attacking Russian
formations.
New in card cover - A4 format, 96pp, 12 colour plates, 2 pages scale drawings,
110 b/w illustrations
