The Book: Carterton’s Hector Tankersley was involved with the YMCA in the late 1930s, and lived in the ‘Y’ hostel while working in Wellington from 1938- 1940. He was recruited as a YMCA secretary to work on New Zealand military bases. This led to secondment to the British YMCA in North Africa, running canteens, entertainment and providing some well-being services for the British Empire forces there. Shortly after arriving in Egypt he was sent to Tobruk, arriving just before the besieging German and Italian forces in April 1941. Hector’s diaries and photographs record his YMCA life, for which he was awarded the MBE in late 1942. His service extended to mid-1943 before he returned to New Zealand, where he continued his YMCA work at RNZAF bases in the South Island. Hector’s story brings to life the busy and exhausting experiences of a New Zealand non-combatant in the Desert War. The Editor: Neil Frances, who has edited Hector Tankersley’s diaries and added explanatory notes, is a military historian. His books, published by Fraser Books, include Ketchil (2005), Things have been pretty lively (2008), Safe Haven (2012), A Long, Long Trail (2015), A Rifle and a Camera (2017), and On the Move Again (2021).

Bind: paperback

Pages: 150

Dimensions: 175 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 28-10-2023

The 11th SS Freiwilligen (Volunteer) Panzergrenadier Division “Nordland” was formed in 1943. Despite what the name indicated, this was not an all-volunteer or fully Nordic unit. The ranks were filled with men from across Europe, many of them conscripts. A cadre of Norwegians in the Regiment 23 “Norge” and Danes in the Regiment 24 “Danmark” formed the backbone of the new division. Nordland was deployed in antipartisan operations in Croatia in the fall of 1943. In 1944 the division saw hard fighting and heavy casualties against the Red Army at Leningrad, Narva, Tannenberg, and Kurland. In 1945, Nordland, a division comprising mostly non-Germans, was among the final formations to continue the fight in Berlin. This new illustrated history of the division includes more than 500 photos from the most-extensive private collections in Europe, along with extensive maps and tables. Appendixes provide a clear explanation of the division's order of battle, a full lists of award recipients, and a glossary of ranks and insignia.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 228 x 304 mm

Publication Date: 28-01-2024

The M60 was deployed by the US military from 1960 until it was phased out and replaced with the M1 Abrams during/after Operation Desert Storm. More than 10,000 examples were produced, and many examples remain in service with foreign militaries to the present day. This is the most comprehensive photo reference on the type, featuring 340 black-and-white and color images. The photos illustrate both the design features and the combat history of the tank. Specific chapters are designated for the M60, A1, A2, and A3 models, along with various auxiliary vehicles based on the M60 hull.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 228 x 228 mm

Publication Date: 28-01-2024

The Gallipoli Landing of 25 April 1915 is arguably Australia’s best known battle. It is commemorated each year with a national holiday, services, parades and great media attention. 2015, the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign, was marked by great publicity and the release of many books, articles, films, documentaries and television series. Despite this attention, the Landing is still a poorly understood battle, with the historiography coloured by a century of misinformation, assumption, folklore and legend. The Landing in the Dawn: Dissecting a Legend - The Landing at Anzac, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, re-examines and reconstructs the Anzac Landing by applying a new approach to an old topic – it uses the aggregate experience of a single, first-wave battalion over a single day, primarily through the investigation of veteran’s letters and diaries, to create a body of evidence with which to construct a history of the battle. This approach might be expected to shed light on these men’s experiences only, but their accounts surprisingly divulge sufficient detail to allow an unprecedented reconstruction and re-examination of the battle. Thus it effectively places much of the battlefield under a microscope. The use of veterans’ accounts to re-tell the story of the Landing is not new. Anecdotes have for many years been layered over the known history, established in C.E.W. Bean, Official History of Australia in the War: The Story of ANZAC, Volume I, as the standard existing narrative. Here, detail extracted from an unprecedented range of primary and secondary sources, is used to reconstruct the history of the day, elevating participants’ accounts from anecdote to eye-witness testimony. This shift in the way evidence is used to reinterpret the day, rather than simply painting it into the existing canvas, changes the way the battle is perceived. Even though more than 100 years have passed since the Landing, and well over 1,000 books have been written about the campaign, much can be learned by returning to the “primary source, the soldier.” The Landing has not been previously studied at this level of detail. This work complements Bean’s by providing new evidence and digging deeper than Bean had the opportunity to do. It potentially re-writes the history of the Landing. This is not an exclusive Australian story – for example, one third of the battalion examined were born in the British Isles. This volume, the most current and comprehensive study since Bean’s, has been rightly described as a major contribution that will change the way the legendary amphibious operation is viewed.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 264

Dimensions: 170 x 245 mm

Publication Date: 12-01-2024

War of Intervention in Angola, Volume 4 continues the coverage of the operational history of the Angolan Air Force and Air Defence Force (FAPA/DAA) as told by Angolan and Cuban sources, in the period 1985-1988. Many accounts of this conflict - better known in the West as the 'Border War' or the 'Bush War', as named by its South African participants - consider the operations of the FAPA/DAA barely worth commentary. At most, they mention a few air combats involving Mirage F.1 interceptors of the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1987 and 1988, and perhaps a little about the activity of the FAPA/DAA's MiG-23s. However, a closer study of Angolan and Cuban sources reveals an entirely different image of the air war over Angola in the 1980s: indeed, it reveals the extent to which the flow of the entire war was dictated by the availability - or the lack - of air power. These issues strongly influenced the planning and conduct of operations by the commanders of the Angolan and Cuban forces. Based on extensive research with the help of Angolan and Cuban sources, War of Intervention in Angola, Volume 4, traces the Angolan and Cuban application of air power between 1985-1988 - during which it came of age - and the capabilities, intentions, and the combat operations of the air forces. The volume is illustrated with 100 rarely seen photographs, half a dozen maps and 15 color profiles, and provides a unique source of reference on this subject.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 80

Dimensions: 210 x 297 mm

Publication Date: 15-07-2021

By 1982, the backbone of the Argentine combat aviation, both on the Air Force and the Navy, was formed by three batches of Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, with the A-4B and C of the Air Force and the A-4Qs of the Navy. Despite their age, being a model almost 30 years old at the time of the war, and lacking protection, they took on the overwhelming struggle to fight the British Task Force that opposed the Argentine forces on the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. The Skyhawks were responsible for inflicting the greatest damage upon the Royal Navy, sinking HMS Coventry, Ardent, Antelope, the RFA Sir Gallahad, and LCU F-4, while damaging many other ships and striking ground targets. They also suffered heavy losses, with 10 A-4Bs, 9 A-4Cs and three A-4Qs lost in combat, with eighteen pilots being killed. The experience of the Skyhawk during the war was another addition to the legend the model had become over the skies of Vietnam and Israel. Despite many reports to the contrary, at the time of writing the Argentine Air Force still operates modernised A-4ARs and OA-4Ars, and is one of the last two military operators of the Skyhawk in the world.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 96

Dimensions: 210 x 297 mm

In June 1990, a mere three months after the Indian Peace Keeping Force withdrawal from Sri Lanka, the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government resumed and was to continue unabated until another cease-fire in early 1995. This period of the protracted Sri Lankan civil war, known as Eelam War II, saw not only the LTTE evolve into a fully-fledged semi-conventional force, but also gained the reputation of being one of the most innovative and professional armed groups ever. This volume covers in detail the coming into being and the tactics of the Sea Tigers, the movement's naval wing infamous for its swarm tactics, but also the developments related to its intelligence wings and ground forces. The Sri Lankan armed forces were however no underdog either. To the contrary, and despite numerous flaws that plagued their efforts, they were anything but passive, launching multiple offensives which were part of a cohesive and well thought-out strategy, all the while benefiting from the leadership of several extremely gifted officers, foremost Brig.Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa. The two warring parties thus repeatedly fought each other in battles and campaigns of unheard off size and intensity so far, inflicting telling blows upon one another, but with both failing to gain the upper hand in the long run - until the two sides entered into a new round of negotiations which halted the conflict - for a mere few months. Illustrated with over 100 photographs, maps and colour profiles, Paradise Afire Volume 3 continues the story of the internal strife that plagued Sri Lanka in the late 20th Century.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 72

Dimensions: 210 x 297 mm

Publication Date: 15-11-2020

In 1947, India and Pakistan were partitioned by their former colonial ruler, Great Britain. A job that should have taken ten-years was done in a few months. Britain, drained by two world wars in 40-years, no longer had the will or the money to guide the subcontinent to a peaceful partition by consensus. More importantly, the subcontinent was impatient for Britain's departure. The British left in haste, leaving unresolved the issue of Kashmir. This triggered five wars between the new states: 1947-48, 1965, 1971, 1999 and continuing insurgency/counterinsurgency that began in 1987. Two other potential wars were narrowly averted in 1987-88 and 2001-02, and a limited one fought in 1999. Since the basic issue remains unresolved, the next war may be only a matter of time. In 1970, East Pakistan voted for independence and armed rebellion. A quick and nasty counterinsurgency suppressed the rebellion. India, seizing the chance to change the balance of power, first backed East Pakistan, then on 21 and 22 November 1971 invaded with eight divisions. India planned also to attack West Pakistan to recover Kashmir, but at the last moment the offensive was called off due to Soviet pressure. Pakistan attacked pre-emptively, and an all-out war resulted. East Pakistan was overrun by India on 16 December; the US and Soviet forced a ceasefire in the West only a day later. For the first time in 800 years, a predominantly Hindu army defeated a Muslim army. Through extensive use of official records and participant recollections, rare photography and authentic colour profiles, Ravi Rikhye tells the captivating story of the biggest military conflict fought between India and Pakistan to date, and the war that resulted in emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 84

Dimensions: 210 x 291 mm

Publication Date: 10-12-2020

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a major military confrontation between India and Pakistan. Fought on two fronts of the Indian subcontinent between 3 and 17 December 1971, it pitted two major conventional armed forces in an all-out war over the fate of the former East Pakistan, and resulted in the emergence of a new, independent nation of Bangladesh. In the West, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) initiated its involvement with an attack on the forward air bases of the Indian Air Force (IAF), on 3 December 1971. A series of major air battles followed over the primary conflict zones. In the East, the small PAF contingent was quickly neutralized by the IAF. When the war ended in West Pakistan on 17 December, PAF was still in the ring and on its feet. It had parried the enemy's blows and had been ever so careful in its offensive responses. It continued to be fixated with remaining viable for providing complete air support to the Army's all-important battle, which flowed out of the overarching dictum, 'defense of the East lies in the West'. PAF's overall performance can be gleaned from the fact that it managed to keep its aircraft attrition rate at par with the IAF. The PAF unmistakably denied a much stronger IAF the distinct possibility of delivering a knock-out punch to it. In the circumstances obtaining, this was a commendable achievement. Against All Odds is richly illustrated with a selection of exclusive photography, more than a dozen authentic color artworks, and a similar number of maps. It provides a unique source of reference for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 96

Dimensions: 210 x 291 mm

Publication Date: 15-07-2020

In 1999, less than one year after both countries tested nuclear weapons, India and Pakistan found themselves locked in another armed conflict. In spite of a ray of hope for peace in February 1999, when the Indian Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, visited Pakistan and signed the Lahore declaration, by April 1999, the two countries were effectively at war. From the prospect of improved relations and a chance for a peaceful resolution of differences, within one month the subcontinent was plunged into another war. In a brilliant tactical plan, Pakistan launched Operation Badr which saw a brigade sized force of Pakistan Army troops and Islamist militants infiltrate into Indian controlled territory. Supported by Pakistani artillery and well provided with small arms, mortars, and anti-aircraft weapons, these infiltrators were able to entrench along ridgelines with commanding positions over Indian lines of supply and communications. Once realizing the seriousness of the situation, the Indian government ordered its armed forces into a ponderous, but ultimately successful effort to evict the invaders. Facing treacherous terrain, and a well-supplied and entrenched enemy, the Indian Army troops supported by artillery and air force clawed their way up mountain heights to capture fortified enemy positions.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 88

Dimensions: 210 x 291 mm

Publication Date: 20-06-2020