European history

A highly illustrated and detailed study of the Gold and Juno Beaches Landings Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, was the greatest sea-borne military operation in history.

An illustrated account of the infamous Me 262 and its pilots in the dark days of 1945, containing previously unseen photographs.

The first deployment of the V-1 was in June 1944 when, following two years of tests, Hitler gave the order to attack England.

The Japanese Army used tanks to great effect in the build-up to World War II.

Determined to learn from the lessons of World War I, the US Army developed a new generation of field artillery weapons and tactics during the 1930s.

This volume assesses the formidable Special Forces fielded by Italy's navy and air force in World War II.

Written and illustrated by Luftwaffe expert John Weal, this book completes Osprey's trilogy on one of the most important German aircraft of World War II.

A highly illustrated and detailed study of the Sword Beach & the British Airborne Landings.

The armored divisions were the shock force of the US Army's combat formations during the fighting in Northwest Europe in the final year of the war.

Italian military historian Pier Paolo Battistelli examines the elite and special-forces units of the Italian Army during World War II.

A fascinating look at a little-studied aspect of World War I, namely the emergence of the first truly modern tank, the Renault FT.

A detailed study of the English castles of the medieval period.

In the darkest days of World War II, the British planned a daring airborne operation to capture the secret of the new German radar.

The 100th title in the Fortress series, this book describes and examines the F hrerhauptquartiere the 14 or so headquarters built for Hitler.

In 1945, with her fleet destroyed and her armies beaten, the only thing that stood between Japan and an Allied invasion was the numerous coastal defence positions that surrounded the islands.

In 1938, the United States abandoned the constraints imposed by the Washington Treaty and began work on a new class of super-battleships.

On the night of December 7, 1942, five canoes were launched off the mouth of the Gironde river, each containing a pair of British commandoes tasked with slipping into the port of Bordeaux and destroying as many of the merchant ships as possible.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, destroyers have been all-purpose ships, indispensable from delivering the mail at sea to screening other vessels and, where larger ships were not present, forming the front line in battle.

Few if any 20th century warships were more justly acclaimed than the destroyers of the U.

The Staghound was a unique World War II armored vehicle designed and manufactured in the US, but intended solely for the British army.

When the Romans withdrew from Britain, the north of the country was ruled by the mysterious ancient British race, the Picts.

Following the creation of the Duchy of Normandy, the Normans were soon introduced to the castle and they built them in large numbers.

Following the fall of France and the surrender of Paris on 14 June 1940, the British Government announced that the Channel Islands had no strategic importance and would not be defended.

In 1462 the throne of the Principality of Moscow passed to Ivan III (1462 1505), who succeeded in throwing off the Tatar yoke.

The defence of the 9th-century kingdom of Wessex under King Alfred against the 'Great Viking Army' is one of the major military achievements of Early Medieval history.

This is the story of the Royal Canadian Air Force's No 126 Wing, part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force.

This compact, illustrated guide examines the design, construction, and operation of the first six of the ten US fast battleships, two of the North Carolina class and four of the South Dakota class.

A detailed, step-by-step account of one of the greatest war-time raids that helped to ensure the Allied success on D-Day.

The design and development of the key dreadnought classes for the German Imperial Navy and their deployment in World War I, including the great clash of dreadnoughts at the Battle of Jutland and operations in the Baltic.

The history of one of the greatest acts of deception as Kriegsmarine raiders disguised as merchant ships wrecked havoc on Allied shipping and the Allied cruisers who finally destroyed them.

In the course of the Peninsular War, Wellington's army fought several hard battles and smaller actions, but it was the bloody sieges that troubled him more than anything else.

The German Army of World War II considered itself an offensive, mobile force.

At the outbreak of World War II, Fort Eben Emael in Belgium was the strongest fortress in the world, and it lay exactly across the German invasion route of Belgium and France.

Packed with illustrations, a compact guide to the fortifications on the front lines and how they evolved over the course of the First World War.

Gordon L Rottman explores the design development and combat history of the US Army's field fortifications during these two major wars, alongside illustrations and diagrams throughout.

The original forced conversion of pagan Livonia, what is now the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia, was carried out by a military order known as the Brethren of the Sword.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the military importance of the Hawaiian Islands became clear.

An illustrated history of the defences of this pivotal position in the Mediterranean, an outpost between North Africa and the soft underbelly of Europe, and one of the most fortified places in the world.

The story of the small, but important US Cavalry units that fought in both the Pacific and the China-Burma-India Theatres of World War II.

The techniques of European warfare were transformed during the 15th and 16th centuries by the use of gunpowder and by substantial progress in the effectiveness and destructive power of artillery.

The Maginot Line, the massive series of fortifications built by France in the 1930s to defend its borders with Germany and Italy, is perhaps the most maligned collection of fortifications ever built.

Throughout their stormy history the Teutonic Knights of Germany have always been the most controversial brotherhood ever to call themselves 'Knights of Christ'.

An illustrated guide to the defences beset by prolonged and bloody fighting for control of the Japanese occupied Pacific islands in World War II.

Designed to combine the bombing capability of the B-26 Marauder with the versatility of the ground-attack A-20 Havoc, the A-26 Invader would become the USAAF's attack bomber par excellence.

Few of the massive military structures built by Germany during World War II are as impressive as the U-Boat bases and bunkers in Germany, Norway and France.

A highly illustrated guide to some of the most impressive fortifications of World War II the defences of the Atlantic Wall from Belgium to Norway.

On 27 January 1945 the 6th Ranger Battalion and the 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit (the Alamo Scouts) began the most dangerous and important mission of their careers: to rescue 500 American, British and Dutch prisoners-of-war held at a camp near Cabanatuan.

The border between East and West Germany was closed on 26 May 1953.

A fascinating study of some of the most famous fortifications of the 20th century and of how their military and political implications shaped the face of northern Europe.

The Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, was founded in 1942 by William 'Wild Bill' Donovan under the direction of President Roosevelt.