Continental Army regulars fought in massive and famous battles from New England to Virginia, but in the South a different kind of warfare was afoot.Local militia, sometimes stiffened by a small core of the Continental Line, played a pivotal role. This lesser-known war ultimately decided the fate of the Revolution by thwarting the British "Southern strategy". In this book, the authors provide a unique and personal focus on the history of their own ancestors, who fou...

The American Revolution was a decisive conflict, which saw the birth of a new nation. Continental Army regulars fought in massive and famous battles from New England to Virginia, but in the South a different kind of warfare was afoot. Local militia, sometimes stiffened by a small core of the Continental Line, played a pivotal role. This lesser-known war ultimately decided the fate of the Revolution by thwarting the British "Southern strategy". In this title, the authors provide a unique an...

'Were it not for the Navajo Code Talkers the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima and other places' (Anonymous, Marine Corps signal officer). Ed Gilbert uses personal interviews with veterans to tell their fascinating story. Beginning with the first operational use of Native American languages in World War I, he explores how in World War II the US again came to employ this subtle, but powerful 'weapon.' Despite all efforts, the Japanese were never able to decode their messages and the N...

By 1960, following Korea, tanks and their crews had proved themselves to be a fundamental part of the Marine Corps' combined arms team. When the Marines were ordered to Vietnam in 1965, they took their tanks with them. This book explores this decision, which created a political storm. The presence of the tanks became a lightning rod for accusations of an 'escalation' of the war. Nevertheless, the tanks not only proved their value in the anti-guerrilla campaigns, but also amid the bitter co...

The great military effectiveness of semitrained local militia is one of the enduring myths of American military history. In this book Ed Gilbert reveals the truth behind this myth, shedding light on who these frontier men actually were and their role in the war of 1812. He chronicles how untrained and ineffective militia forces were transformed into a formidable fighting force through hard campaigning, fierce combat, and Andrew Jackson's equally fierce discipline. Contemporary illustration...

The US Marine Raider was an "elite within an elite." Modeled on British Commandoes, they were the earliest forerunners of the various special operations units of the modern US military. These units would conduct operations with only the equipment they could carry on their backs; their heaviest weapons were light mortars and light machine-guns. Highly trained in close-in fighting, the Raiders were expected to be equally skilled in watercraft, jungle survival, and jungle warfare. This book d...

The words 'Retreat? Hell, we just got here' have become a central part of the legend of the US Marine Corps, indicative of its reputation for dogged determination and bravery.Uttered at the height of the fierce battle for Belleau Wood, the phrase came to define the Corps, establishing their 'first to fight' ethos in the public eye. This history follows the experiences of the Marines during the Great War, from their training in the US and France through the fighting...

An eye-opening guide to a crucial turning point in the American Revolution, a masterpiece of manoeuvre and deception. This is a must-have for any enthusiast of eighteenth century warfare or American military history.This is a blistering account of the battle of Cowpens, a short, sharp conflict which marked a crucial turning point in the American Revolution. With Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton and the British troops in hot pursuit, Daniel Morgan, leading a small force o...

A highly illustrated account of the battle for Blanc Mont Ridge in 1918, where the US attackers broke the German line and sent them into headlong retreat in one of the major US victories of World War I.The dominating Blanc Mont Ridge complex in the Champagne region of France was home to some of the most complex German defences on the Western Front. Its heights offered artillery observation that made even approaching the ridge virtually suicidal.Pessimistic ...

The different national tank doctrines of the United States and Imperial Japan resulted in a terrible mismatch of the predominant tank types in the crucial Central Pacific campaign.A flawed Japanese doctrine emphasized light infantry support tanks, often used in small numbers. Tactically, tanks were often frittered away in armored versions of the familiar banzai attacks. Meanwhile, the Americans saw the tank as an infantry support weapon, but developed a mo...

Inspired by the classic silent film of 1919, this original audio play won the Independent Publishers Award in 1998 for best direct-to-audio production. John de Lancie stars as a young poet who visits a fair one night with his friend and girlfriend. Entering Dr. Caligari’s tent, they meet the mysterious Cesare, a kind of zombie, who is neither alive nor dead—and who forecasts doom for our high-strung protagonist and his friends.Combining the directness of an old-time radio play and ...

III Marine Amphibious Force was conceived as a division command for a small Marine Corps commitment to Vietnam. Within four years it had grown to a reinforced corps of two divisions, an air wing, and the division-sized Force Logistics Command.This organization was unique in Marine Corps history in that it merged combat and major logistical functions under a single field command. This book examines the origins and constantly changing organizational structure of III ...