British & Commonwealth Bayonets

British & Commonwealth Bayonets PDF Author: Ian D. Skennerton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780949749048
Category : Bayonets
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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British & Commonwealth Bayonets

British & Commonwealth Bayonets PDF Author: Ian D. Skennerton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780949749048
Category : Bayonets
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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The Broad Arrow

The Broad Arrow PDF Author: Ian D. Skennerton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780949749437
Category : Firearms
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Australian Service Bayonets

Australian Service Bayonets PDF Author: Ian D. Skennerton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780959743814
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Messines 1917

Messines 1917 PDF Author: Craig Deayton
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 152674015X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 453

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Book Description
The enemy must not get the Messines Ridge at any price So read the orders to German troops defending the vital high ground south of Ypres. On 7 June 1917, the British Second Army launched its attack with an opening like no other. In the largest secret operation of the First World War, British and Commonwealth mining companies placed over a million pounds of explosive beneath the German front-line positions in 19 giant mines which erupted like a volcano. This was just the beginning. By the end of that brilliant summers day, one of the strongest positions on the Western Front had fallen in the greatest British victory in three long years of war. For the Anzacs, who comprised one third of the triumphant Second Army, it was their most significant achievement to that point; for the men of the New Zealand Division, it would be their finest hour.It is difficult to overstate the importance of Messines for the Australians, whose first two years of war had represented an almost unending catalogue of disaster. This was both the first real victory for the AIF and the first test in senior command for Major General John Monash, who commanded the newly formed 3rd Division. Messines was a baptism of fire for the 3rd Division which came into the line alongside the battle-scarred 4th Australian Division, badly mauled at Bullecourt just six weeks earlier. The fighting at Messines would descend into unimaginable savagery, a lethal and sometimes hand-to-hand affair of bayonets, clubs, bombs and incessant machine-gun fire, described by one Australian as 72 hours of Hell. After their string of bloody defeats over 1915 and 1916, Messines would prove the ultimate test for the Australians

Bayonets of the World

Bayonets of the World PDF Author: Paul Kiesling
Publisher: S I Publicaties Bv
ISBN: 9789070987053
Category : Bayonets
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Bayonets of the World was originally published from 1972 to 1976 in four volumes, and over 40 years later it is still the reference work by which all other books are measured. This new publication, Bayonets of the World: The Complete Edition, contains all drawings and information from the original version, but is extended with new information and drawings, arranged into 47 national chapters, depicting and describing circa 1100 different bayonets by country. Further, this new edition contains indices on markings, manufacturers, lengths and countries. The absolute standard work on the subject. AUTHOR Paul Kiesling owned one of the largest and finest collection of bayonets of the world. In the seventies, he combined his collection, knowledge and drawing talents with those of other collectors and museums and composed the best book on the subject ever. ILLUSTRATIONS 1100 photographs

British and Commonwealth Military Knives

British and Commonwealth Military Knives PDF Author: Ron Flook
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781853109867
Category : Armies
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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The Bayonet

The Bayonet PDF Author: Bill Harriman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472845374
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
Although muskets delivered devastating projectiles at comparatively long ranges, their slow rate of fire left the soldier very vulnerable while reloading, and early muskets were useless for close-quarter fighting. Consequently, European infantry regiments of the 17th century were composed of both musketeers and pikemen, who protected the musketeers while loading but also formed the shock component for close-quarter combat. The development of the flintlock musket produced a much less cumbersome and faster-firing firearm. When a short knife was stuck into its muzzle, every soldier could be armed with a missile weapon as well as one that could be used for close combat. The only disadvantage was that the musket could not be loaded or fired while the plug bayonet was in place. The socket bayonet solved this problem and the musket/bayonet combination became the universal infantry weapon from c.1700 to c.1870. The advent of shorter rifled firearms saw the attachment of short swords to rifle barrels. Their longer blades still gave the infantryman the 'reach' that contemporaries believed he needed to fend off cavalry attacks. The perfection of the small-bore magazine rifle in the 1890s saw the bayonet lose its tactical importance, becoming smaller and more knife-like, a trend that continued in the world wars. When assault rifles predominated from the 1950s onwards, the bayonet became a weapon of last resort. Its potential usefulness continued to be recognized, but its blade was often combined with an item with some additional function, most notably a wire-cutter. Ultimately, for all its fearsome reputation as a visceral, close-quarter fighting weapon, the bayonet's greatest impact was actually as a psychological weapon. Featuring full-colour artwork as well as archive and close-up photographs, this is the absorbing story of the complementary weapon to every soldier's firearm from the army of Louis XIV to modern-day forces in all global theatres of conflict.

The British Are Coming

The British Are Coming PDF Author: Rick Atkinson
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 1627790446
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 800

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Book Description
Winner of the George Washington Prize Winner of the Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History Winner of the Excellence in American History Book Award Winner of the Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award From the bestselling author of the Liberation Trilogy comes the extraordinary first volume of his new trilogy about the American Revolution Rick Atkinson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning An Army at Dawn and two other superb books about World War II, has long been admired for his deeply researched, stunningly vivid narrative histories. Now he turns his attention to a new war, and in the initial volume of the Revolution Trilogy he recounts the first twenty-one months of America’s violent war for independence. From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army take on the world’s most formidable fighting force. It is a gripping saga alive with astonishing characters: Henry Knox, the former bookseller with an uncanny understanding of artillery; Nathanael Greene, the blue-eyed bumpkin who becomes a brilliant battle captain; Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man who proves to be the wiliest of diplomats; George Washington, the commander in chief who learns the difficult art of leadership when the war seems all but lost. The story is also told from the British perspective, making the mortal conflict between the redcoats and the rebels all the more compelling. Full of riveting details and untold stories, The British Are Coming is a tale of heroes and knaves, of sacrifice and blunder, of redemption and profound suffering. Rick Atkinson has given stirring new life to the first act of our country’s creation drama.

Mud, Blood and Poppycock

Mud, Blood and Poppycock PDF Author: Gordon Corrigan
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1780225547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 525

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Book Description
The true story of how Britain won the First World War. The popular view of the First World War remains that of BLACKADDER: incompetent generals sending brave soldiers to their deaths. Alan Clark quoted a German general's remark that the British soldiers were 'lions led by donkeys'. But he made it up. Indeed, many established 'facts' about 1914-18 turn out to be myths woven in the 1960s by young historians on the make. Gordon Corrigan's brilliant, witty history reveals how out of touch we have become with the soldiers of 1914-18. They simply would not recognize the way their generation is depicted on TV or in Pat Barker's novels. Laced with dry humour, this will overturn everything you thought you knew about Britain and the First World War. Gordon Corrigan reveals how the British embraced technology, and developed the weapons and tactics to break through the enemy trenches.

British Post-War Jungle Webbing

British Post-War Jungle Webbing PDF Author: Simon Howlett
Publisher: Crowood Press UK
ISBN: 9781847970862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
After World War Two the rapid advance of communism and associated political instability threatened Great Britain's interest in the Far East. From 1948 until around 1967, troops were deployed throughout the Malaysian region. To equip the British soldier and Commonwealth troops or jungle warfare the 1944 pattern 'jungle' webbing, designed during World War Two, was issued. In the 1960s, the new 1958 pattern equipment was issued to troops serving in Borneo, alongside the existing 1944 pattern set. Both patterns of equipment were unofficially customized and formally modified to meet the needs of individual jungle soldiers and the tough environment, to keep up with the rapid innovation of small-arms technology. This book details the evolution of British post-war jungle webbing equipment and examines the items used specifically during the Malayan Emergency and later, the Borneo Confrontation. Brought together into one reference book, the contents include: Components of post-war 1944 pattern webbing; 1944 pattern equipment modifications; 1944 pattern ancillary webbing items, bayonets and radio packs; Small arms used during the conflicts, and carriage of their ammunition; Special forces bespoke webbing; Typical customization of infantry belt kits; Items comprising the 1958 pattern webbing equipment set