Armoured Warfare in the British Army 1914-1939

Armoured Warfare in the British Army 1914-1939 written by Lt Col Dick Taylor

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 248

This is the first volume in a three-volume illustrated history of the evolution of armoured manoeuvre warfare in the British army, covering the period from 1914 until 1939. Author Dick Taylor’s tour de force covers the evolution of the tank and armoured cars in response to the specific conditions created by trench warfare, the history of the use of tanks during the war, as well as the critical period between the wars in which the tank was both refined and neglected. He also looks in detail at the amalgamations and mechanization of the horsed cavalry which led to the formation of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939.

His detailed and absorbing narrative covers the social and human aspects of the story as well as the technology and explains how the nation that invented and first fielded the tank in 1916 struggled to maintain the lead after the Armistice.

This book or small book series takes a look at tanks during the Great War and up until the Second World War. Unfortunately, the British tank was never a going to be the best in the world, but it was the first. This book explains the reasons for this from political in-fighting, to there no being group thinking to improve on the original tanks and therefore not enough money put into the weapon in the inter-war period. This book should be commended for the very comprehensive information and detail within, the author Dick Taylor has done a fantastic job I feel I have learnt so much from this book. The book contains a lot of information tables and some really good photographs of the process and design.

If I wanted to learn about the British tank, I would most certainly recommend this one and this is just the first in a series of three. This is a highly commendable book, very well written and well done.

London Serial Killers

London Serial Killers written by Jonathan Oates and published by Pen & Sword

Books - £20.00 - Hardback - Pages 224

Murders and murderers fascinate us – and perhaps serial killers fascinate us most of all. In the twentieth century the term came to be used to describe murders committed by the same person, often with similar methods. But, as Jonathan Oates demonstrates in this selection of cases from London, this category of crime has existed for centuries, though it may have become more common in modern times. Using police and pathologists’ reports, Home Office and prison files, trial transcripts and lurid accounts in contemporary newspapers, he reconstructs these cases in order to explain how they took place, who the killers were, what motivated them, and how for a while they got away with their crimes. He does not neglect the victims and provides a revealing analysis of the killers, their circumstances and their actions.

Among the nineteenth-century cases are the infamous killings of Jack the Ripper and the less-well-known but terrifying crimes of the only female killer, the Deptford Poisoner. Twentieth-century cases covered in forensic detail include the Black-out Ripper of 1942, the Thames Nude Murders of the 1960s and the multiple killings of Joseph Smith, John Christie and John George Haigh. There is also one especially troubling unsolved case – the notorious Soho prostitute killings of the 1930s and 1940s, which may be the work of one man.

This book looks at about 10 cases through recent times starting off with the Jack the Ripper case, through the various stories or events the writer Jonathan Oates takes us through the event, then looks at the investigation, mistakes, evidence and the various court reports, readings and records. Oates actually does a really good job, and a lot of research and writing has gone on. So it is a very good book in my opinion, certainly for any true crime buffs. The only downside I found was I had heard and read about 90% of the cases in this book so although it was an enjoyable book, I didn’t learn a great deal from it.

The Waffen-SS Armour on the Eastern Front 1941-1945

The Waffen-SS Armour on the Eastern Front 1941-1945 written by Ian Baxter

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 144

Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union, codename Operation Barbarossa, was arguably the pivotal moment of the Second World War. Initially, the onslaught was staggeringly successful with, as the superb contemporary images in this book show, Waffen- SS armoured divisions leading the charge. But the Nazis had underestimated the Russians’ determination to defend their homeland and the logistical problems compounded by the extreme winter weather conditions.

After early victories such as the recapture of Kharkov in early 1943 and the Kursk offensive, commanders and crews of armoured vehicles such as Pz.Kpfw.I, II, III, IV, Panther, Tiger, King Tiger, assault and self-propelled guns had to adapt their tactics and equipment to what became a desperate defensive withdrawal eventually back across a scarred and devastated Eastern Front. Even during the last months of the war as the Panzers withdrew through Poland and into the Reich, these exhausted elite units, broken down into small battle groups or Kampfgruppen, fought to the bitter end.

With authoritative text supported by a plethora of rare fully captioned photographs, this classic Images of War book informs and inspires the reader revealing the key role played by Waffen-SS Panzer units in this most bitter campaign.

The Eastern Front, one of the more important parts of World War Two in which sent many troops and vehicles into Russia during Operation Barbarosa, it also looks at how hard the Germans found the war, enemy and weather conditions. Much like Russia today, even today people (Putin) still haven’t learnt from history in that if you start a war in the winter, your going to get bogged down/stuck and if your far from supplies you're going to run out of fuel. Once again this is another fascinating book as we see a good number of tanks and crew going to war and then being forced to retreat. It’s finally twigged with me especially the ‘land’ books of the images of war series’, that the vast majority of the photos are taken by the soldiers/crews in the situations. This makes the photos all the more better because you have soldiers in the situation knowing what to photograph and what is important. This is why so many of the photos consist of soldiers in their everyday working life, going through the good times and the bad.

Another fantastic book and as you know already I would happily recommend all these

Images of War books. I should also add there are always great appendices in the back

of these books, which probably often get overlooked.

The Waffen-SS in Normandy 1940

The Waffen-SS in Normandy 1940 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

In June 1944, Operation OVERLORD, the greatest ever amphibious invasion, initially overwhelmed German Normandy defences. To attempt to stabilize the situation, Hitler deployed his elite Waffen-SS divisions to avert the crisis.

This classic Images of War book describes how the formidable Leibstandarte, Das Reich, Hitlerjugend, Hohenstaufen, and the Frundsberg SS divisions with supporting Wehrmacht divisions fought fanatically despite facing overwhelming enemy airpower and determined well-led Allied armies. Mounting losses and supply and fuel problems culminated in the Falaise Pocket defeat, when twenty-five out of the thirty-eight German division was completely destroyed. As a result, the remaining Waffen-SS units had to be reluctantly withdrawn and transferred back to Holland and, Belgium to recoup, or sent to the Eastern Front to attempt to stem the relentless Soviet advance.

With many rare and unpublished photographs with detailed captions, Waffen-SS in Normandy is a graphic account of the Waffen-SS operations in Normandy and their subsequent retreat through France.

This book in the Images of War series looks at the Waffen-SS in Normandy in 1940, a German operation in response to the allied forces' invasion of Normandy in the D-Day landings. Now as this was getting towards the end of the war, Germany was beginning to run out of supportive troops and his army was being stretched almost to the limit. Hence why and you’ll notice this looking through the book at the pictures, Hitler was having to rely heavily on troops formerly of the Hitler Youth. You’ll see from the photos that many of the soldiers in this book look very young, and as leader in a youth organisation personally, some of these soldiers look around the age as some of the young members in my group. But this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, as quite a few allied soldiers would go to remark how well these young German soldiers fought. 

This was a really enjoyable book to read, fascinating to see really young men being soldiers and having to endure war at such a young age. I must credit the author Ian Baxter, as it seems when you read an Ian Baxter book, you’ll always get a well written and researched book. This book feels a little smaller than others in the series, but it is certainly an excellent book.

Narvik and the Norwegian Campaign 1940

Narvik and the Norwegian Campaign 1940 written by Philip Jowett and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £18.99 - Softcover - Pages 240

The Norwegian campaign, fought in 1940, early in the Second World War in Europe, is overshadowed by the campaign in Poland that preceded it and the German blitzkrieg in the Low Countries and France that followed, yet it was a close contest from the military point of view and it had a far-reaching impact on the rest of the war. Philip Jowett’s photographic history is a vivid introduction to it.

In a concise text and a selection of over 150 photographs, he traces the entire course of the fighting in Norway on land, at sea and in the air. He describes how important it was for the Allies – the Norwegians, British and French – to defend northern Norway against the Germans, in particular, to retain control of the strategic port of Narvik.

The book documents in fascinating detail the troops involved, the aircraft and the large naval forces, and gives an insight into the main episodes in the conflict including the struggle for Narvik and the major clashes at sea which culminated in the loss of the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier Glorious.

The photographs are especially valuable in that they show the harsh conditions in which the fighting took place and offer us a direct impression of the experience of the men who were there.

This book is an addition to the brilliant Images of War series created by Pen & Sword Books, the Narvik and the Norwegian Campaign 1940 is in my opinion a part of WW2 that gets very overlooked so I think that this book becomes a valuable part of the series. As you would expect this book as an Images of War book is for the vast majority black and white photographs, but I would say that we shouldn’t underestimate the standard of the supporting text that is part of the main text and the supporting captions to the photographs. 

The book is split into 14 chapters from Defending Neutrality through Invasion, Fall of Denmark, Sea Battles, Airwar over Norway to the end of the Norwegian Invasion. I must admit I do enjoy reading about the Norwegian part of the war, purely as I said this part of the war gets very little attention. This was a good read and thoroughly enjoyable with a good number of excellent photos, an excellent addition to the series.

Agent Provocateur for Hitler or Churchill?

Agent Provocateur for Hitler or Churchill? written by David Tremain and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 304

There have been many remarkable women who served British Intelligence during the Second

World War. One whose dubious claim to have worked for them is a fascinating tale involving

three marriages – the first, to a spurious White Russian prince; the second to a

playboy-turned-criminal involved in a major jewellery robbery in the heart of London’s Mayfair

in the late 1930s. After the war, she became romantically involved with a well-known British

Fascist, but finally married another notorious criminal whom she had met earlier during the war.

The descriptions variously ascribed to her ranged from ‘remarkable’ and ‘quite ravishing’ to ‘…a woman whose loose living would make her an object of shame on any farmyard.

Until now, very little has been recorded about Stella Lonsdale’s life. She doesn’t even merit a mention in the two official histories of MI5, even though she managed to tie them up in knots for years. This book will explore the role this strange woman may or may not have played in working for British Intelligence, the French Deuxième Bureau, or the Abwehr – German military intelligence – during the Second World War, using her MI5 files as a primary source.

I should probably admit that I had never heard of Stella Lonsdale, but in a way, I can see why and why not. In a fascinating book that delves deep into the story and the circumstances involved, the information is a lot and very comprehensive. Hopefully, this isn’t spoiling it for anyone but this book clears her name of being any sort of spy for Nazi Germany. Although her lifestyle and friends might not have been to everyone’s taste, this book digs deep and does a lot of research to vindicate her and is very comprehensively written. I think this book could deter some readers because there was a lot of detail and information, but I pushed on through and in the end, it was a good read. Certainly one for those that love their spy game type reads.

Royal Mysteries of the Anglo-Saxons and Early Britain

Royal Mysteries of the Anglo-Saxons and Early Britain written by Timothy Venning and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 272

Royal mysteries never fail to intrigue readers and TV viewers. The 'mysteries', unravelled and analysed, are of enduring fascination and full of tragedy, suffering and pathos but also heroism and romance.

The text is based on deep research in original sources including rare documents, archaeological and DNA evidence, latest historiography and academic research but is essentially accessible history.

These are the 'Dark Ages' but Anglo-Saxon enlightenment is emphasised. The Heptarchy, with seven Anglo-Saxon states, is examined and Alfred's victory over the Vikings and the emergence of the English kingdom. But mystery surrounds all aspects of dynastic, political and military history. The story includes the surviving British and Welsh kingdoms when 'Welsh' meant 'foreigner, the Gaelic kingdoms in what became Scotland, the survival of lowland 'Britons' under the Germanic Anglo-Saxon radar - a new interpretation of early English society in its shadowy forms with the half-mythical founders of the early English kingdoms like Hengist of Kent or Cerdic of Wessex, up to William duke of Normandy - did he have any legitimate claim to justify his 'power-grab'? Some episodes have dropped out of history like the murder of the teenage King Edward the 'Martyr', but here is a re-telling of early mysteries based on close analysis of the myriad sources while stimulating romantic fascination.

Now, this Anglo-Saxon part of British history is a part I am learning more and more about, this is a very comprehensive and detailed book, something that must have taken a lot of research. The book begins in parts as far back as the Roman period of occupation in Britain and runs up to the more or less the Battle of Hastings. The book split into 10 chapters looks at various royal stories, kings and kingdoms of England, and the way others interacted with them with relations from abroad and the Celtic countries. Although I’m still learning about this period, I’m thoroughly enjoying reading books like this, by authors who clearly know what they’re on about. Highly recommended and an enjoyable read.