Ewer examines how British politics shaped the development of aviation in the first half of the twentieth century. He challenges narratives of simple technological failure or national decline, showing instead that aviation outcomes were shaped by political institutions, policy traditions and cultural assumptions about the relationship between the state, industry and technology.Drawing on extensive archival research, the book charts the development of British aviation through the pol...

How flawed planning, dysfunctional personalities and empirical arrogance took Australia down the long road to Changi.In the 1930s while war raged in Europe, Australians were assured by politicians that the country was safe as long as the Union Jack fluttered over 'Fortress Singapore'. the reality was so different: Britain, over-stretched and under threat, skimped on the forces it needed to hold the base. When Japanese forces began flexing their muscles in the Pacific, a hasty defenc...

How flawed planning, dysfunctional personalities and empirical arrogance took Australia down the long road to Changi.In the 1930s while war raged in Europe, Australians were assured by politicians that the country was safe as long as the Union Jack fluttered over 'Fortress Singapore'. the reality was so different: Britain, over-stretched and under threat, skimped on the forces it needed to hold the base. When Japanese forces began flexing their muscles in the Pacific, a hasty defenc...

This is the largely unknown story of another Anzac force, which foughtnot at Gallipoli, but in Greece, during World War II.Desperately outnumbered and fighting in deeply inhospitable conditions, these Anzacs found themselves engaging in a long retreat through Greece, under constant air attack.Most of the Anzac Corps was evacuated by the end of April 1941, but many men gotonly as far as Crete. Fighting a German paratroop invasion there in May, ...

This book examines the development of cooperation between the EU and NATO, two key non-state actors in the European security architecture.The work examines the relationship between the EU and NATO by focusing on the perspective of member states. Highlighting the relevance of member states’ role in shaping EU-NATO relations, it conceptualises interorganisational cooperation and develops a typology of member states based on four types: advocates, blockers, balancers and neutrals. To ...

From the evacuation of France in 1940 to the final dash to Hamburg in 1945, the 5th Royal Tank Regiment were on the front line throughout the Second World War. Theirs was a war that saw them serve in Africa as part of the Desert Rats, before returning to Europe for the Normandy landings. Wherever they went, the notoriety of the 'Filthy Fifth' grew - they revelled in their reputation for fighting by their own rules.The Tank War explains how Britain, having lost its advantag...

'Deserves a place with the other standard encyclopaedias Australians keep on their shelves. It will be a valued travelling companion for visitors to the battlefields of Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.' - Professor Robert O'Neill, Oxford University'I keep this book within easy reach.' - Dr Peter Stanley, Australian War Memorial'I have used this book often, finding it to be a valuable, comprehensive and reliable guide to Australian battles over ...

The definitive and thrilling history of those who wore the famous green beret.COMMANDO is the definitive history of the units raised to answer Winston Churchill’s call to arms: ‘Enterprises much be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror.’ These units and their courageous operations would take many forms, including the spectacular assaults of the Small Scale Raiding Force, No. 30 Commando’s shadowy intelligence-gathering, and th...

This WWII military study sheds new light on the legendary Siege of Malta, combining a detailed narrative with provocative strategic analysis.The heroic defense of Malta against the Axis powers is one of the most famous episodes of the Second World War. For more than two years this tiny island was the critical to maintaining control of the Mediterranean and essential to the outcome of the North African campaign. David Williamson, in this thought-provoking reassessmen...

**The definitive biography of the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth, and the brave men who sailed with her.**Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young - many were still teenagers - from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vich...

Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Antony Beevor vividly brings to life the epic struggles that took place in Second World War Crete - reissued with a new introduction.'The best book we have got on Crete' ObserverThe Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercep...

The eighth Canadian Battle Series volume is the little-told story of the tense final days of World War II, remembered in the Netherlands as the sweetest of springs,” which saw the country’s liberation from German occupation.The Liberation Campaign, a series of fierce, desperate battles during the last three months of the war, was bittersweet. A nation’s freedom was won and the war concluded, but these final hostilities cost Canada 6,298 casualties, including 1,482 dead.Wit...