This compelling new study of the Battle of the River Plate concentrates on Kapitan zur See Hans Langsdorff the commander of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee
- it is written from his point of view. The story of his mission at the start of the Second World War to prey on merchant shipping is graphically retold & Langsdorffs command decisions are the primary focus of David Millers gripping narrative. He considers in vivid detail the factors Langsdorff had to consider as he assessed the situation of his ship & choose his course of action. He describes the intelligence Langsdorff received & his knowledge of the position & strength of the forces of the Royal Navy that were arrayed against him. Langsdorffs interpretation of his mission & the tense calculations he had to make in order to carry it out are the essential elements of this dramatic story. Langsdorff operating alone & thousands of miles away from home & with no prospect of support had to grapple with the enormous burden of a lone comm&. He made grave mistakes & these are ruthlessly exposed. But this fascinating re-examination of his actions & his leadership does nothing to diminish his reputation as a brave & honourable officer.
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The Command of the Ocean" describes with unprecedented authority & scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness & the central place of the Navy & naval activity in the life of the nation & government. It describes not just battles voyages & cruises but how the Navy was manned how it was supplied with timber hemp & iron how its men (and sometimes women) were fed & above all how it was financed & directed. It was during the century & a half covered by this book that the successful organizing of these last three
- victualling money & management
- took the Navy to the heart of the British state. It is the great achievement of the book to show how completely integrated & mutually dependent Britain & the Navy then became."

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Use these small sticky strips for damage free hanging of posters & pictures which can also can be removed cleanly. Full instructions on how to apply & remove included on the packaging. Not to be used on wallpaper vinyl surfaces antiques & valuables. Do not use for hanging items over a bed. ...

Edward Pellew captain of the legendary Indefatigable was quite simply the greatest frigate captain in the age of sail. An incomparable seaman ferociously combative yet chivalrous a master of the quarterdeck & an athlete of the tops he was as quick to welcome a gallant foe into his cabin as to dive to the rescue of a man overboard. He is the likely model for the heroic but all-too-human Jack Aubrey in Patrick OBrians novels. Pellew was orphaned at eight but fought his way from the very bottom of the Navy to fleet command & a viscountcy. Victories & eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet as an outsider with a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers he made powerful enemies. Redemption came with his last command when he set off to do battle with the Barbary States & free thousands of European slaves. Contemporary opinion held this to be an impossible mission & Pellew himself in leading from the front in the style of his direct contemporary Nelson did not expect to survive. Pellews humanity as much as his gallantry fondness for subordinates & blind love for his family & the warmth & intimacy of his letters make him a hugely engaging & sympathetic figure. In Stephen Taylors magnificent new life he at last has the biography he deserves. ...

June 1940: As Britains soldiers limped home from Dunkirk a maverick Army officer was already devising a bold plan to hit back at the enemy. His idea was to revolutionise military thinking & change the face of warfare for ever. Relying as much on stealth & guile as on courage & stamina the Commandos brought to the battlefield the skills of the guerrilla. Trained by an unconventional band of experts & led by a big-game hunter a film star a Highland chief & an eccentric wielding a bow & arrow they became the spearhead of the Allied drive for victory. Weaving together official documents new research & veterans own accounts Commando reveals for the first time the exhilarating full story of WWIIs most formidable fighting force. ...

Attention! In your hand is an indispensable training manual for new recruits to fatherhood. Written by ex-Commando & dad of three Neil Sinclair this manual will teach you in no-nonsense terms how to: survive the first 24 hours; prepare & plan to Prevent Poor Parental Performance; maintain morale in the ranks; feed clothe transport & entertain your troops; transport the troops successfully on maneuvers; increase your flash to bang' time & 'square away' tasks along the way; & much much more. Let Training Commence. ...

Eric Harden was the only British army medic to be awarded the nations highest honour for battlefield bravery during the Second World War & remains the only rank & file member of the Royal Army Medical Corps to be recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross. As a pre-war member of the St John Ambulance he saw service during the 1940-41 Blitz & later volunteered for the Commandos under-going the same rigorous training as the fighting men before being attached to 45 Royal Marine Commando. He landed with his unit on D-Day & was involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the Normandy campaign. During a bitter battle on the Dutch-German border Harden known throughout his unit as Doc was killed saving the lives of wounded men trapped in no-mans l&. Commenting on the posthumous award in a speech to the House of Commons the Secretary of State for War the Rt Hon James Grigg was sufficiently moved by his selfless actions to say: I do not remember ever reading anything more heroic."" ...

Following the bestselling success of Carltons man-size Commando anthologies here is a new pocket-format compilation of three classic comic-strip war stories printed the same size as the original Commando comics. Tally Ho!" features a trio of explosive air-war yarns that show the heroic RAF flyers at their best. From fighter sorties over occupied France & bombing raids on the Afrika Korps to Hurricane attacks on the Japanese this action-packed but handily formatted collection of Second World War stories will thrill Commando fans of all ages." ...

For everyone in Britain these were the darkest days of the Second World War. Our army or what was left of it had been withdrawn from France via the beaches of Dunkirk disabling & abandoning arms & equipment during the desperate evacuation. While they reorganized & re-equipped there was no effective fighting force to stand against Hitlers Wehrmacht should they choose to invade. Crossing the channel with an invasion fleet was however not an operation to be contemplated without complete control of the sky otherwise the transports & landing craft would be blown out of the water by the RAF. The Nazis answer? Neutralise the RAF. Destroy its runways destroy its aircraft on the ground destroy its support networks & most of all kill its pilots. The RAF of course had other ideas & during the summer of 1940 the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over southern Engl&. The courage & skill of the RAF pilots & ground crews during those few hectic weeks has formed the backdrop to some of the most outstanding Commando tales ever published. Stories like Ace Without Honour" " Island of Heroes" & " Brigand Squadron" as well as " Blind Courage" " Fly Fast-Shoot Fast" or " Spitfire Spirit" bring the atmosphere of the battle spinning into the 21st century. Presented 25 per cent larger than when originally published this special edition drops you out of the sun into the midst of the dog fights the howl of the Merlin engine on full boost almost drowning out the roar of the Brownings thundering away in the wings either side of your cockpit. Whether you are a novice sprog comic book pilot or a seasoned veteran the fantastic aero art created by the Commando artists & the compelling stories will leave you gasping for the next Scramble!" ...

Following the bestselling success of Carltons man-size Commando anthologies here is the latest of the pocket-format compilations each containing of three classic Commando war stories printed the same size as the original comics. Bombs Away!" features " Ghost Pilot" " Hoodoo Ace" & " Deck-Level Dawson". Hair-rising tales of bombing missions in Lacasters & Stirlings make this action-packed but handily formatted collection of stories a thrill for Commando fans of all ages." ...