Pen And Sword imprint: 2611 books

This is a vivid and perceptive insight into the horrors of war as experienced by British soldiers of the Royal Artillery in the Desert War in 1941–2. The author, who fought in the campaign, brings to life the true nature of the fighting as British gunners struggled to defend their comrades from...

This is not just the story of what was perhaps the most daring raid undertaken by the commandos during the war, but it is also the true and remarkable account of a desperate escape by Marine Sparks and Major 'Blondie' Hasler across German-occupied France. For nearly three months, while they desperately...

Sir John Norton-Griffiths was one of a breed of adventurer, pioneer, entrepreneur and soldier whose like is very seldom seen. Having learnt his trade and made his fortune mining the rich seams of south Africa, he turned his expertise to more deadly use in the Great war. He led the gallant miners who...

As a conscript from Alsace, Dominik Richert realized from the outset of the First World War that his family was likely to be at or near the front line. He was a reluctant soldier who was willing to stand up to authority – and to avoid risks – in order to survive. His honest account of his part...

Tom Firth begins his extraordinary memoir by describing his unusual childhood in Japan and the devastating Yokohama earthquake in 1923. In 1930 the family settled in his mothers native Poland only to split up when Poland was overrun by the Nazis and the Russians in 1939. Whilst his father and older...

This guide book covers the present-day battlefield, and the actions that took place on and immediately behind the D-Day beaches, and Major and Mrs Holt's Pocket Guide to Normandy has been put together to take you around the area.This book, part of a new series of guides, is designed conveniently in...

This fully revised second edition of Christina Holstein’s acclaimed Battleground guide to Fort Douaumont will be essential reading for students of the Battle of Verdun, for visitors to the battlefield, and for anyone who is interested in the history of twentieth-century fortifications. The...

Many railway historians and enthusiasts only know about the railways in the Barry area, because of Woodham Brothers scrap yard, where so many locomotives were rescued for preservation. However, there is a wider story to be told of the development and history of the railway and docks and John...

This is the second in a new series on the South Wales Valleys by John Hodge, author of the South Wales Main Line series and North and West series, each of four volumes. The South Wales Valleys were famous for coal mining, iron and steel, tinplate works and the railways that served both industries,...

How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Carlisle were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record...

The manner of their meeting was unprecedented. During the lawless mayhem that followed the capture of Badajoz by Wellington, a 14 year old Spanish girl sought the protection of Captain Harry Smith. They fell in love and married shortly after. From then on their lives and careers were inextricably...

After two years' extensive research the author has written a thorough account of the political and military background to the German invasion of Crete and the bitter fighting that followed the first airborne assault on an island in history. The book tells of confused negotiations between the British...

Military histories of the struggle against the French armies of the Revolution and Napoleon often focus on the exploits of elite units and famous individuals, ignoring the essential contribution made by the ordinary soldiers – the bulk of the British army. Carole Divall, in this graphic and painstakingly...

Although only formed in December 1992, The Light Dragoons look back to a history that began in the days of the first Jacobite rebellion. In 1922 a reduction in the Army’s strength saw the amalgamation of four regiments of Hussars into the 13th/18th Hussars and the 15th/19th Hussars. Now they too...