In the late-19th century, with the advances in technology and the increase in America's economic stature, a new round of fortification building began in the United States and its overseas territories.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Following the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Mujahideen defenders of Afghanistan developed and reinforced many natural cave systems to use as supply bases and defensive positions.
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.
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 Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1592 to 1598, was the only occasion in Japanese history when samurai aggression was turned against a foreign country.
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'.
During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive US firepower.
A brilliant but little-known operation, the Shimazu clan raid on the independent kingdom of Ryukyu (modern Okinawa) in 1609 is one of the most extraordinary episodes in samurai history - the culmination of centuries of rivalry between the two powers.
The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay.
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.
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.
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.
From June 1941, the Soviets were forced to undertake large-scale defensive operations in the face of the overwhelming German blitzkrieg assault, operations which ran counter to their preference for highly mobile, offensive warfare.
The castles built by the Crusaders, Hospitallers, Venetians and Genoese in Cyprus, Greece, the Aegean, and on the Black Sea served to defend against a complex array of constantly changing threats.
A history of the key fortresses that dominated the landscape of medieval Russia from its legendary foundations in the 9th century to its conquest by the Mongols and the eventual rise to power of the principality of Muscovy.
With the exception of the key royal sites, such as Stirling and Edinburgh, few Scottish castles were located at strategic points, or were intended to house garrisons required to defend or subjugate towns.
During the early 13th century the north of what is now France went to war with the south in a bloody crusade aimed at destroying the heretical sect known as the Cathars.
In America's collective unconscious, the Haudenosaunee, known to many as the Iroquois, are viewed as an indelible part of New York's modern and democratic culture.
In America's collective unconscious, the Haudenosaunee, known to many as the Iroquois, are viewed as an indelible part of New York's modern and democratic culture.
This illustrated study explains how Japan's all-conquering air forces spearheaded the invasions of Malaya and the Dutch East Indies and stunned the defending British, Dutch, and American forces.
