Pen And Sword imprint: 2611 books

As a young officer in the prestigious 21st Lancers (motto 'Death or Glory') Douglas Haig played a leading role in Kitchener's bold expedition which ended in the defeat of the Khalifa of Sudan at Omdurman. He described the action, as he did the whole campaign, vividly in words and diagrams which survived...

The British Army suffered one of its greatest crises when in December 1899 the Boer irregulars inflicted three reverses in South Africa in 'Black Week'. A nation grown accustomed to success was stunned. Part of the answer was a very British blend of patriotism and pragmatism. For the first time civilian...

The landing at Suvla Bay, part of the August Offensive, commenced on the night of 6 August 1915. It was intended to support a breakout from Anzac Beach. Despite early hopes from a largely unopposed landing, Suvla was a mismanaged affair that quickly became a stalemate. The newly formed IX Corps,...

Reconnaissance aircraft have always been the spearhead of the various air forces, helping to provide the basis for any further military operations. At the time of the Cold War and before the satellite era, the use of reconnaissance aircraft reached its zenith, as the warring nations were determined...

The Skyhawk first entered service with the US Navy almost 50 years ago. It is still in service with various US units and remains the backbone of many of the air forces of those countries to which it has been exported. It was originally conceived as a carrier-borne fighter bomber, but as the aircraft...

On 5 November, 1940 the eastbound convoy HX 84 of thirty-seven merchant ships, escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, was attacked in mid-Atlantic by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. The Jervis Bay, commanded by Captain Edward Fegen, charged at the enemy. Hopelessly out-gunned,...

The Great Northern Atlantics, were the first locomotives constructed in Britain to the 4-4-2 wheel arrangement. The Atlantics were designed by H.G. Ivatt, locomotive Superintendent of The Great Northern Railway. Introduced from 1898, with the construction at Doncaster Works of small boilered...

On the outbreak of the Second World War, during the first week of September 1939 over three million people were evacuated. Operation Pied Piper was the largest ever transportation of people across Britain, and most of those moved to safety in the countryside were schoolchildren. 

Social historian...

"In 1944, the V-1s and V-2s, Hitler's 'vengeance' weapons, were regarded by the British as the single greatest threat of the war. It was the job of the specialist bomb disposal teams to render the V-weapons safe and uncover their secrets. This is their story. In this unique book Chris has investigated...

Sir John Gorman served with the Irish Guards in North West Europe, winning the MC for ramming and knocking-out a Royal Tiger tank; the thickness of its armor precluded any other alternative! After the War he followed his father into the Royal Ulster Constabulary - not the normal choice of career for...

After the S.A.S., 16 Brigade is the most high profile formation in the British Army but to date there has been no complete history of its operations and activities. The aim of this book is to produce a history of Britain’s Elite Rapid Reaction Force 16 Air Assault Brigade. It will provide...

The crushing defeat suffered by the British Army by the Zulus at Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 is by any standards a gripping and shocking story. The discovery of a complete set of diaries written by a young Royal Artillery officer who was the only survivor of his unit which lost all their guns is...

South African born and bred, David Rattray's name is today synonymous with the Anglo-Zulu War. Now for the first time, his encyclopaedic knowledge is available to the reading public. With its magnificent colour artwork, including superb paintings, detailed maps and lively and informative text, this book will be greatly welcomed by both readers at home and visitors to the sites themselves.

In the two hundred years since the Battle of Waterloo countless studies examining almost every aspect of this momentous event have been published – narratives of the campaign, graphic accounts of key stages in the fighting or of the role played by a regiment or by an individual who was there - an...