Epic historical fiction focused on the German paratrooper (fallschirmjaeger) and legionary, Ulrich Werner, who fights in World War II and French decolonisation conflicts in Indochina, Algeria and Cameroon. In 1967, a torso washes up on the banks of the Mississippi. Flashback to 1950 - a battalion of Legion paratroops flies over the jungle in Indochina. Ulrich recollects. In Hannover 1940, he celebrates Christmas with his medical student girlfriend, Penelope. Clyt...

Military mistakes impel strategic reflection. The French Indochina War (FIW) from 1946-1954 furnishes useful insights with some resonance for current challenges. A combination of pre-exiting conditions, catalysts and operational drivers cause the cathartic 1954 French defeat. Pre-conditions include the illegitimacy of the colonial regime and repression that polarises nationalist sentiment. Economically, pernicious terms of trade suppress industrialisation but oil speculation until suddenly...

In 527, Vitalian sails to Alexandria to study but, instead, falls in love with an exotic pagan, Passara. Spurned, the young Byzantine noble enlists in the legions. In 530, barbarians swarm across the frozen Danube. The count is captured and enslaved in the Dacian gold mines. The Emperor orders the veteran, Zimarchus, to lead an extraction mission. Free, Vitalian becomes Empress Theodora's personal bodyguard. The elite cavalry officer then commands in Africa, Corsica and Italy but the war d...

The role of real estate in our cities is crucial to building sustainable and resilient urban futures. Smart Urban Regeneration brings together institutional, planning and real estate insights into an innovative regeneration framework for academics, students and property professionals.Starting by identifying key urban issues within the historical urban and planning backdrop, the book goes on to explore future visions, the role of institutions and key mechanisms for smart ur...

Pandemics and military catastrophes illustrate systems fragility and impel strategic reflection. The French Indochina War (FIW) from 1946-1954 furnishes insights with resonance for current infectious, climatic, pollution and economic challenges. Four strategic themes structured an analysis of historical literature. The reasons for the French failure in 1954 involved fundamental regime illegitimacy, political equivocation, intelligence shortcomings, strategic and operational failures but al...

In 527AD Justinian is crowned Emperor but sends his young relative, Vitalian, to study in Alexandria. The youth falls in love with the exotic pagan, Passara. Disillusioned with academia, Vitalian enlists in the Legions. Fighting in Syria and the Caucasus transforms the pampered legate into a battle-hardened cavalry officer. In 529, Vitalian arrives on the Danube front but that winter the barbarians swarm across the frozen river and capture him. Meanwhile, in the East, General Belisarius wi...