Sons of the Arghandab tells the story of the 1-320th Field Artillery "Top Guns" Battalion, 101st Airborne, in the Arghandab Valley, 2010-2011.The Arghandab River Valley is known for its lush vegetation from its grape furrows and its pomegranate orchards. It’s also known as the birthplace of several Taliban leaders such as Mullah Omar and Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, and was a major crossing route for weapons coming from Pakistan into Kandahar. This hostile environment had already claimed the lives of many seasoned Infantrymen. But the Top Guns weren't infantrymen, they were artillerymen, deployed without their usual weapons and with minimal last-minute training, redesignated as "provisional infantrymen." Painstakingly researched by one of the Top Guns and told through the perspectives of the men who survived that terrible year, this is the harrowing story of Alpha, HHB, and Bravo Batteries as they undertook the challenges of an Artillery unit charged with an Infantry mission in the most hostile killing fields in Afghanistan.

The week-long Allied bombing campaign against Hamburg in late July 1943 was not only hugely destructive but also had a significant impact on the German night fighter arm. From now on, the “boxes” of Kammhuber’s “Raumnachtjagd” would be the starting point from which fighters would be led into the bomber stream as early as possible, a tactic dubbed “Zahme Sau.” The night fighters had to quickly adopt new “freelance” procedures, and also found themselves increasingly engaged in daylight operations. These actions resulted in heavy losses—especially of experienced aces—which the Nachtjagd could ill afford and struggled to replace.The winter of 1943/44 saw a series of huge raids on Berlin. Although hard pressed, the Nachtjagd aces were still able to score some heavy tactical victories. Over a thousand RAF “Viermots” were shot down—more than double the expected losses—before the campaign was cut short. New night fighter aces emerged, often former transport and reconnaissance pilots, and the upward firing armament of the Bf 110s and Ju 88s could cut swathes through the “stream.” However, by mid-1944, as the Allies advanced, the night fighter aces were forced into new roles, including ground-strafing armor and troop concentrations, a role for which they were clearly unsuited. A small number of Me 262 jets were deployed in a new NJG 11, but exclusively committed against the rapid twin-engined Mosquitos of the RAF’s Light Night Striking Force. Heinkel He 219s were never available in significant numbers and prowling Mosquito intruders were an ever-present danger to Nachtjagd crews.While the surviving night fighter aces continued their defensive actions virtually every night, by March 1945 the Nachtjagd was in terminal decline. Of the 1,100 night fighter pilots and crew who claimed at least one victory, some 669 were lost, a casualty rate of around 74 percent.Fully illustrated and featuring newly translated personal accounts, this is a chronological account of the Luftwaffe night fighters in the second part of the war, covering major campaigns, the biographies of individual aces, and the details of their aircraft.

Hero of Belleau Wood, Lemuel Shepherd was the living embodiment of a Marine Corps legend, for Belleau Wood was synonymous with Marine valor and sacrifice.At the age of just 22, after early graduation from Virginia Military Institute following the United States’ entry into World War I, Lemuel Shepherd was made a platoon commander in the 5th Regiment of Marines. His first challenge was to help screen and organize the many recruits needed to convert the company up to war strength. Within just a couple of weeks of reporting for duty, he was on a ship bound for Europe. He would participate in the Aisne-Marne offensive, facing machine guns at the famous battle of Belleau Wood, receiving the DSC and Navy Cross for his gallantry. There he was twice wounded. He returned to the front in August, seeing action in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives, being wounded for the third time.His career in the Marine Corps continued after the war, encompassing time as aide-de-camp to the commandant of the Marine Corps, duty in China and Haiti, and a period on the staff of Marine Corps Schools, Quantico. After the US entered World War II, Shepherd took command of the 9th Marine Regiment, training it and leading it overseas. Promoted to brigade command in July 1943, he served on Guadalcanal, then as assistant division commander in the Cape Gloucester operation. In May 1944, he assumed command of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade and led them in the invasion and recapture of Guam. Finally, he commanded the 6th Marine Division through the battle of Okinawa, for which he received a Gold Star. He would command all Marines in the Pacific during the Korean War, and then in 1952 he was appointed as the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps, introducing a number of important policies that increased military proficiency for the corps.This new biography utilizes Shepherd’s oral history, a wide range of archival records from the Marine Corps History Division and the Virginia Military Institute, and a personal interview conducted by the author with General Shepherd in the 1980s, to give a fuller picture of the consummate “Leatherneck.”

In Vietnam, in 1967, William Chickering commanded a Mike Force battalion of Montagnards, highland tribesmen who were also members of a secret army, FULRO, whose aim was to rid the highlands of all Vietnamese, both communist and non-communist. Fighting for land and dignity, they saw the Vietnamese as colonialists and themselves as revolutionaries. For a while, FULRO appeared capable of changing the course of the war. Then, inexplicably, it faded away.Chickering’s quest to understand FULRO took him to Phnom Penh in 1973, where he found five of the six leaders, the sixth having been mysteriously murdered. He was unable to discern the truth behind their political smoke. Two years later, 150 of them—men, women, and children—took refuge in the French Embassy as the city fell but were expelled into the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Among them was the family of Bhan, one of the leaders. In the United States at the time of the fall, Bhan and Chickering tried to learn their fate, but Cambodia had become a tomb.In 1986, Bhan headed out into the world to learn for himself. He resurfaced in Cambodia 22 years later, after an extraordinary odyssey, never having found them. Had they and the rest of the FULRO Montagnards been executed, or could they still be alive somewhere in the hinterlands? Determined to learn the truth, Chickering moved to Phnom Penh. His research led him to the widow of a Cambodian Cham widely assumed to have been FULRO’s puppeteer and eventually to FULRO’s secret papers. From these he was able to piece together why FULRO faded away and how that was connected to its one last heroic shot in 1965 to win a country of the Montagnards’ own.This extraordinary account corrects history’s assumption that Vietnam’s Montagnards were only pawns, revealing how an ideology of their own—ethnonationalism—gave them the agency to create an army and clandestine movement that kept Hanoi, Saigon, and Washington guessing.

A candid and multifaceted look at life as a security contractor in Iraq in the early years after the American invasion. It’s not just a story of surviving IEDs and firefights while protecting American contractors—though those moments are vividly recounted—it’s also an exploration of the broader, often unexpected, experiences that defined the author’s two and a half years in Iraq.Structured as a series of concise, self-contained chapters, the book captures a wide range of events and encounters: high-speed crashes, tense standoffs with Iraqi security forces, the ever-present uncertainty of knowing who to trust, and the toll of living in a warzone—but outside the protection of the military—on contractors, clients, and locals alike. The focus isn’t just on action but also on the everyday challenges and the strategies necessary to stay safe in such a dangerous and unpredictable environment.The book introduces the diverse people the author met through his work, from former Green Berets, British Royal Marines and South African commandos, through to Gurkhas, a former member of the French Foreign Legion, and even a Buddhist monk. There are stories of heroic, larger-than-life figures and of outlaws who came to Iraq because they didn’t fit in anywhere else and ended up not fitting in there either. It also delves into the lives of Iraqi civilians, who offered glimpses of kindness and humanity amid the chaos. These stories provide readers with a nuanced and personal perspective on a challenging and complex chapter of modern conflict.

Patrick Naughton’s father barely spoke of his time in Vietnam to his family, yet his service was the sole reason Patrick joined the U.S. Army as a teenager. Patrick Naughton Sr served in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne and advising the South Vietnamese Army, while Patrick himself would serve in Iraq. Three decades of history and politics divided their service yet the similarities between their experiences are undeniably striking.Patrick’s attempts to understand his father led to a search for those who served with him in Vietnam, an examination of the personal relationship of a father and son whose few connections have been war, and a quest to understand war and its undeniable generational influence. The result is an engaging and eye-opening weaving together of the combat experiences of two generations of a military family.From the failure of grand stratagem, through personal combat stories, and the memories of those lost—America’s wars against communism and terror are laid raw through the experiences of one family.

During the Iraq War, the U.S. Army found itself in a very similar situation to the 1st Air Mobile Cavalry Division during the Vietnam Conflict—facing an enemy who knew the terrain and was determined to fight for their cause. The difference between the two conflicts is that American forces could not take full advantage of armor superiority in Vietnam. For the infantry to truly be effective and dominant, they need to have the backing of tanks, enabling them to continue dismounted operations overwatched by tanks.The history and battle techniques of the army’s armored core have been discussed in other military conflicts in depth, but this will be the first full discussion of the role and usefulness of the tanks in Iraq, analyzing battles that were completely shaped or significantly aided due to the presence and efficiency of armor units. These units were well-trained and well-equipped and provided armored support and devastating firepower that the enemy could not easily counter. They were such a powerful force that the insurgents in Iraq had to completely change their tactics to account for the Abrams that they were facing. This work will attempt to illuminate the importance of the tanks themselves as well as the tankers who fought inside of them and show how valuable they were to the army and Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003–2009.

The “Battlin’ Bastards” of B Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, fought daily against a well-trained and determined enemy during their tours in Vietnam, 1968–71. Before the war, these men were brothers, sons, sweethearts, husbands, and fathers. Some were athletes, some musicians. Some were just out of high school, some in established careers. There is no monolithic “Battlin’ Bastard,” but when they joined the 101st Airborne Division—one of the most highly decorated divisions in the United States Army—in Vietnam, they united, fighting for each other, and fighting to return safely home.It was difficult to put their experiences behind them. As Bravo veteran, Terry Taylor, recalled, “I learned at the age of 18 that you don’t have to die to go to hell. Vietnam was hell on earth.” And yet despite the obstacles, many of these men built successful lives post-war. Decades after returning from the war, when the men were ready to cautiously revisit their experiences, the Bastards started stateside reunions.From these reunions came the wish to share their stories with the world, to honor, to educate, and to inspire. The result is this book, written from interviews and diligent archival research, in which the surviving “Battlin’ Bastards” tell their stories of combat in their own words, and honor those who “sacrificed for their country and their unit.”Additionally, the author of A War of Their Own has requested an update to the long description. Please update the final sentence in the second paragraph to: “In the United States at the time of the fall, he tried to learn their fate with Chickering's help, but Cambodia had become a tomb.”

Summer 1942. Defeatism hangs in the air. Britain stands alone. Winston Churchill is determined to strike back and has ordered the formation of a special operations force, dubbed "Commandos", with the mission to "set Europe ablaze." U.S. Marine Captain Jim Cain and his Gunnery Sergeant Leland Montgomery are surprised to receive orders to the British Commando training center in the Scottish Highlands. There they are put through the brutal specialized training that will hone their fighting skills and physical endurance. Pitiless forced marches, dangerous live fire exercises and hazardous assault courses separate the men from the boys, while building a strong sense of brotherhood among the British soldiers and the two Marines. Lucky to be quartered in the spacious home of the Commandos' CO, Cain has the pleasure of meeting Loreena. The stunning auburn-haired daughter of the CO is secretive about her work in London. Before Cain can learn more about her, the training course is interrupted. He and the commando squad are sent on a special mission to destroy a German radar station on a Nazi-held island off the coast of France. The site is defended by a squad of second-rate garrison soldiers who are no match for the highly trained and motivated commandos. A reaction force of infantry, led by a blooded German combat veteran, joins the fight. The action is fierce and bloody and there are heavy losses on both sides. The surviving raiders are able to withdraw to Royal Navy motor torpedo boats, as a marauding squadron of Schnellboots (E-Boats) lies in wait. The Commandos: Set Europe Ablaze is rich in detail and military accuracy which makes the story "come alive" and enables the reader to easily visualize the characters, the settings and the action scenes.

The summer of 1863 started off disastrously for the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater. In early May, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia defeated and humiliated Major General Joseph Hooker’s army at the Battle of Chancellorsville. While both armies reorganized in the wake of Chancellorsville’s massive losses, Lee then maintained the initiative and launched an invasion of Pennsylvania. Throughout June, Lee’s army advanced deeper into Pennsylvania and Northern efforts to stop his progress were ineffective until Major General George Meade replaced Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac. On July 1, 1863, Meade and Lee’s large armies collided outside of the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The stakes were never higher for either army as the newly promoted Meade defended Northern soil, while General Lee risked everything by taking the war into enemy territory.The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg is often overshadowed by fighting on the following days, but July 1 was one of the bloodiest single engagements of the entire Civil War. Many of the decisions leading to and through Gettysburg’s first day remain steeped in controversy. Did Meade intend to fight on the Pipe Creek line in Maryland until subordinates such as Major General John Reynolds forced the engagement at Gettysburg? Did the absence of J. E. B. Stuart’s cavalry really leave Lee “blind” to his opponent’s movements? Was Lee’s desire to avoid a general engagement ignored by his own officers? With neither commanding general on the battlefield for much of the day, crucial decisions remained in the hands of subordinates such as John Buford, John Reynolds, A. P. Hill, Richard Ewell, and Oliver Howard.This Casemate Illustrated volume sets the stage for the Civil War’s greatest battle and covers the heroism, decisions, and mistakes made on the first day at Gettysburg.

Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy’s leadership discovered that the surface fleet was highly vulnerable to air attack, thanks to the introduction of drone aircraft that could simulate attacks on its warships. The Navy’s gunners simply did not have the coordinated firepower to knock them down. Recognition of this vulnerability resulted in a new class of warship led by USS Atlanta.The attack on Pearl Harbor shocked the nation. Following the declaration of war, lines formed outside of recruiting stations as Americans desired to don the uniform. With Margaret Mitchell serving as the ship’s sponsor, Atlanta’s commissioning on Christmas Eve 1941 served as a rallying point for a country weary of bad news overseas. Some of those new recruits would find their way to Atlanta’s quarterdeck. For the capital of the Peachtree State, the ship was not only a source of civic pride, but a reason for many young men to join the Navy with the promise of assignment.Not all of the Navy’s sea commanders had a full appreciation of the light cruiser-designed mission, but officers were unafraid of taking their own initiatives without the permission of superiors in combating the enemy. Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky typifies this breed of independent thinkers, who played a hunch to follow the wake of a speeding Japanese destroyer at the Battle of Midway with his bomber squadron that led him and his compatriots to the Japanese carriers.Atlanta was awarded five battle stars for her World War II service and a Presidential Unit Citation for her “fighting spirit” in the naval battle off Guadalcanal. This first comprehensive account of Atlanta’s war covers her construction, commissioning, and full war service.

Join Garner, Dodge, and the rest of RT Iowa as they venture “across the fence” to help stem the flow of the North Vietnamese on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Tense hours of moving in areas “denied” to the U.S. military are interspersed with fierce firefights; back at Kontum, the Green Berets unwind with wild abandon, while the recon first sergeant makes repeated, often doomed attempts to ensure the teams’ success—and survival.First published in 1990, this classic account of Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group, was written as a novel by a veteran of Recon Team Iowa to bring his experiences and those of fellow MACV-SOG soldiers to a wider audience at a time when their dedication and sacrifice was little known. The small tight recon teams—each comprising three U.

On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht launched its assault on the West. One element of the West’s response was the dispatch of RAF Bomber Command ‘heavy’ bombers at night over German industrial centers. These raids had only limited effectiveness, but the inability of the Luftwaffe to chase down RAF bombers at night so annoyed Wolfgang Falck that it swiftly resulted in the creation of a credible night fighter force. Initial trials had been flown with Bf 110s at dusk in Denmark in April, and 1. Nachtjagd.Division was founded in the summer of 1940. Its first few months were chaotic, with constant reorganizations of units, and reassignment of aircraft, but soon enough the night fighter arm was achieving steady victories—and losing crews at a similarly steady rate.Despite the efforts of senior leadership, the Nachtjagd constantly struggled to secure sufficient personnel or aircraft, and would spend most of its life playing catch up—its radar systems regularly outdone by RAF Bomber Command’s jamming capabilities, though the development of Schräge Musik and Wilde Sau did give the Nachtjagd an edge. The first specialist Luftwaffe night fighter—the Heinkel He 219—would be trialled only in 1943.Fully illustrated, this is a full chronological account of the night fighter units for the first part of World War II, covering major campaigns, the biographies of individual aces, and the details of the technology developed for the Nachtjagd.

A fully illustrated introduction to the role, and experience, of the Panzer crewman.The German Panzerwaffe ripped up the rulebooks of war that had been laid down by the grinding slaughter of the trenches of World War I. Armored vehicles, close-air support, and bold leadership based on mission command, Auftragstaktik, cut a deadly swathe through the armies of east and west Europe. The Panzers made a significant contribution to Nazi successes; they remained steadfast in defense as their conquests slipped away their grasp from the apogee at Stalingrad and El Alamein in late 1942, through the long years of retreat to final defeat. Attrition and overwhelming odds blunted the opportunities for advances, but with increasingly powerful weaponry, the Panzerwaffe stiffened the German defensive backbone right to the end.Part of the reason for these successes was undoubtedly the Panzers themselves, but it wasn’t just the weapons that led to the Panzers’ successes—it was the way they were handled. A weapon is only as good as those who use it and the Panzertruppen—from higher command down to individual crew members—proved themselves to be very good at using their weapons. Not just the men who fought in the tanks but those who maintained them and kept them in the field, recovered and rebuilt the casualties, and dealt with the over-complexity of design and the huge variety of types of tank, weapon and ammunition. Selection and training standards—so good in the early war years—may have dropped off as wartime exigencies bit deep, but from 1939 to 1945 German Panzer crew were second to none. This Casemate Illustrated provides a full introduction to the role, and experience, of the Panzer crewman.

In early 1945, the Red Army marched into East Prussia. Having advanced across Poland, relentlessly pushing back German forces, the Red Army built up forces along the Oder River, preparing for the final push towards Berlin. But before that battle could take place, it was necessary to clear and destroy German forces in Pomerania and West Prussia. In February 1945, the 2nd Byelorussian Front was advanced west north of the Vistula River toward Pomerania and the major port city of Danzig, with the primary aim of protecting the right flank of Zhukov’s 1st Byelorussian Front, which was pushing towards Berlin. The opening of the offensive saw a series of heavy attacks east of Neustettin against the towns of Kontiz and Koslin. The fighting was bitter, resulting in the entire left wing of the 3rd Panzer Army being cut off.Forward Soviet tank units reached the Baltic, and the German forces in Pomerania became trapped in a series of encirclements. Russian troops then pushed on to Danzig—strategic location and the last German stronghold in the region—reaching it in early March and putting it under siege. A third stage was the operation to take the Arnswalde and Kolberg areas. Kolberg was one of the key German positions in the “Pomeranian wall,” the vital link between Pomerania and Prussia. The German high command had planned to use the port facilities for the logistical supply of nearby German forces, and hoped that the presence of this stronghold would lure Soviet forces away from the main thrust toward Berlin. The ensuing battle was brutal, with Soviet troops eventually seizing Kolberg. Finally, spearheads of the 1st Byelorussian Front advanced against the German Eleventh SS Panzer Army, which was being assembled in Pomerania. What followed was a bitter and bloody battle for the town of Altdamm.The offensive successfully cleared the remnants of German forces northeast of Berlin, allowing Zhukov’s forces to finally launch the battle of Berlin from the Seelow Heights on the Oder on April 16, 1945.

In the spring of 1945, simultaneously with the battle of the Seelow Heights, powerful Red Army spearheads launched three sub-offensive operations to clear German resistance for the Berlin operation. Between April 13 and 17, 1945, elements of the 2nd Belorussian Front replaced parts of the 1st Belorussian Front and began to prepare their offensive operations. Bitter fighting ensued, as German units desperately tried to hold their positions. Whilst these operations continued with unabated ferocity, Zhukov’s 1st Belorussian Front broke through the final line of the Seelow Heights and nothing but broken German formations lay between them and Berlin.On April 20, Hitler’s 56th birthday, Soviet artillery of the 1st Belorussian Front began shelling Berlin in preparation for attacking the city. At the same time the 1st Belorussian Front advanced towards the east and northeast of the Reich capital, whilst the 1st Ukrainian Front smashed through the last formations of the northern wing of the German Army Group Center. What followed was the Soviet battle for Berlin. Russian planners divided the frontal and pincer parts of the battle for Berlin in phases. Once the 1st Belorussian Front and 1st Ukrainian Front completely encircled the city, over one million Russian soldiers began attacking into the suburbs towards the center. They faced some 45,000 soldiers in several severely depleted Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions. These divisions were supplemented by the Berlin Police force, and the Hitlerjugend and Volkssturm, mainly manned by teenaged boys.