Launched in April 1912, the Vest Pocket Kodak was one of the world's first compact cameras. About the height and width of today's iPhone, it was small enough to fit into the pocket of a waistcoat (the American Vest) and allowed the soldiers to recor…
When Edgar Mobbs ran on a rugby field, people watched. Eyes were drawn to him. A towering, upright presence - long of stride with knees raised high; elegant and powerful.When opponents came too close, out would shoot the famous Mobbs' hand-off - a c…
Impeccably detailed and beautifully written, The Lost Olympian of the Somme is the story of an Olympic gold medallist and forgotten war hero. Frederick Kelly's first-hand account offers a startling personal insight into the Great War and offers a un…
In the early hours of 15 May 1982, three Sea King helicopters carrying 42 men of 22 SAS Regiment and attachments, lifted off from the carrier HMS Hermes and headed towards the remote Pebble Island on the north coast of West Falkland. Their task? To…
By Christmas 1914 Britain's Regular Army had virtually ceased to exist. Four months of hard fighting had drained its manpower and the Territorial Army were called on to plug the gaps. The part-timers leapt at the chance to serve their country overse…
The battles fought by the British army in 1915, in the second year of the First World War, are less well known than those fought immediately after the outbreak of war in 1914 and those that followed in 1916 which culminated in the Battle of the Somm…
The Retreat from Mons 1914: South is the second volume in Pen & Sword's Battle Lines series to cover the opening campaign of the Great War. It is the essential companion for every visitor who is keen to retrace the path taken by the British Expe…
Battle Lines Ypres, the first volume in Pen & Sword’s new series of walking, cycling and driving guides to the Western Front, is the essential companion for every visitor to the Ypres Salient and the battlefields of Belgium. Many of the mo…
This is the story of the Battle of Calais, a short but bloody struggle to delay the German advance in May 1940. It is a story of uncertainty, of taut nerves, of heat, dust, raging thirst and hand-to-hand fighting in the narrow streets of the channel…
The guide will take the visitor beyond the ferry terminal and hypermarkets to reveal the hidden Calais and the actions of individuals and units in this defence.
By March 1942, mainland France had been under German occupation for almost two years. Every month that passed saw Germany bolster her defences against an expected allied invasion. Every month that passed saw Germany tighten her grip on Britain's tra…
Beaucourt and Mametz Wood to the Butte de Warlencourt.
The 'Pals' battalions were a phenomenon of the Great War, never repeated since. Under Lord Derby's scheme, and in response to Kitchener's famous call for a million volunteers, local communities raised (and initially often paid for) entire battalions…
By March 1942, mainland France had been under German occupation for almost two years. Every month that passed saw Germany bolster her defenses against an expected allied invasion. Every month that passed saw Germany tighten her grip on Britain's tra…
Many guidebooks cover the Somme offensive in 1916, the five-month struggle that has come to be seen as one of the defining episodes in the history of the fighting on the Western Front during the First World War. But no previous guide has concentrate…
This, the first in a new series on Special Operations, tells the story of 3 Para and the often-neglected struggle for Mount Longdon. It was a battle which tested the discipline, comradeship and professionalism of the Paras to the limit; it was a bat…
By the late summer of 1944 the allied drive in Western Europe was in danger of stalling as lines of communication became ever more extended. A 'back door' into the heart of Germany had to be found. In September 1944, that 'back door' led through Hol…
Boulogne - 23 May, 1940. A town under siege. A rampant German panzer division hammers at its gates. Panic in the street and chaos on the docks. Air Raids. Frightened refugees and dispirited Allied soldiers scramble to escape. Churchill sends battali…
The seizure of Pegasus Bridge by six glider borne platoons of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry under Major John Howard very early 6th June 1944, is one of the better-known stories of D-Day. Landing just yards from vital bridges ove…
The First World War battlefields to the north of Arras - including Vimy Ridge - are among the most famous and most visited sites on the Western Front, rivalled only by those around Ypres and the Somme, and this clearly written, highly illustrated gu…
In this remarkable book, historians Jon Cooksey and Graham McKechnie present the extraordinary story of Frederick Kelly, the musician, composer and Olympic rower, killed in action during the Great War. Frederick Kelly's war diary, written between 19…
Battle Lines Ypres, the first volume in Pen & Sword's new series of walking, cycling and driving guides to the Western Front, is the essential companion for every visitor to the Ypres Salient and the battlefields of Belgium. Many of the most famous…
Mons to the Marne, the latest volume in Pen & Sword's Battle Lines series of walking, cycling and driving guides to the Western Front, is the essential companion for every visitor who is keen to retrace the path taken by the British Expeditionar…
The First World War battlefields to the south of Arras - including Battery Valley and Observation Ridge, Telegraph Hill, Monchy-le-Preux, Wancourt, and Bullecourt - are among the most famous and most visited sites on the Western Front, rivalled only…
From cold war bunkers to Civil War sieges - Britain is littered with sites of military significance. This book shows the amateur enthusiast how to unlock the drama of a battlefield in his or her own area. It explains how to read a military map and a…
