1815 - The Return of Napoleon by Paul Britten Austin

$39.99 NZD

Category: World Military History

This unique and atmospheric volume presents the dramatic story of Napoleon's escape from Elba and his march on Paris in the words of eyewitnesses and participants. Drawing on hundreds of firsthand accounts by Napoleon's supporters and opponents, Paul Britten Austin recreates the drama of those tumultuou s days of the spring of 1815: Napoleon's dramatic landing at Antibes in the south of France, the first heady days of his arrival after almost a year of exile, his almost miraculous march across France, his arrival in Paris, and the coup which led to the fall of the Bourbons.   Paul Britten Austin's technique, so brilliantly presented in his earlierh 1812 trilogy on Napoleon's invasion of Russia, brings historical events to life and gives a dramatic insight into the hopes and fears of the French nation in that spring of 1815. ...Show more

1914: The Year the World Ended by Paul Ham

$59.99 NZD

Category: World Military History | Reading Level: very good

Few years can justly be said to have transformed the earth, yet 1914 did. The story of the outbreak of World War I.In July of 1914, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Britain, and France were poised to plunge the world into a war that would kill or wound 37 million people, tear down the fabric of society , uproot ancient political systems, and set the course for the bloodiest century in human history. In the long run, the events of 1914 set the world on the path toward the Russian Revolution, the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Nazism, and the Cold War. Here, award-winning historian Paul Ham tells the story of the outbreak of WWI from German, British, French, Austria-Hungarian, Russian, and Serbian perspectives. Along the way, he debunks several stubborn myths. European leaders, for example, did not stumble or "sleepwalk" into war. They fully understood that a small conflict in the Balkans--the tinderbox at the heart of the continent--could spark a European war. Yet they carried on. This book seeks to answer the most vexing question of the 20th century: Why did European governments decide to condemn the best part of a generation of young men to the trenches and four years of slaughter, during which 8.5 million would die? ...Show more

1st Battalion RNZIR 1957-2007: From South-East Asia to Afghanistan the First 50 Years by Paul Koorey

$59.99 NZD

Category: World Military History

1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment 1957-2007 commemorates the service of the Battalion both nationally and internationally and reflects upon the excellent leadership, training systems and innate soldiering abilities which have earned New Zealand's Army an international reputation for prod ucing extraordinary light infantry personnel. The book succeeds the book produced for the 25th Anniversary, and is a history of achievement. It documents the last 50 years of the Battalion's exploits and the people that served. ...Show more

28 (Maori) Battalion: Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force by J. F. Cody

$55.00 NZD

Category: World Military History

John Douglas Publishing is delighted to be able to produce this work with kind permission from Manatu Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the 28 Maori Battalion Association. This is the official history of one of the greatest fighting infantry units of World War II, the 28(Maori) Battalion. We have done everything possible to ensure the book is as close to the original, printed in 1956. As Lieutenant-General Bernard Freyberg wrote in the Foreword to the book: "In this history you will read the whole story - how they went overseas from New Zealand in 1940, with the Second Echelon to England, to take part in 'The Battle of Britain'. When the threat of invasion diminished they re-embarked for the Middle East, and arrived in time to take part in the disastrous campaigns in Greece and Crete. Later they fought in the 1941 Libyan Campaign and in the battles in 1942 in defence of Egypt. Later, when the tide changed, they took an active part in the victorious Western Desert Campaign, under Generals Alexander and Montgomery. They finished the war in Italy on the 2nd May 1945. "In all these many campaigns this Battalion took a great part, often a decisive part, in the fighting, as in the counter-attacks at Maleme and 42nd Street in the Cretan Campaign, or again in the Battle of Tebaga Gap, where gallant and young Ngarimu gained his posthumous Victoria Cross, or in the capture of Takrouna. But as glorious as these battles were, and as gallant and brave as was the Maori part, it is not only of their bravery but what fine fighting men they were. "To know and appreciate their great qualities you must understand their background and their tribal traditions. Maori are a fighting race, and according to their traditions and in keeping with the laws of New Zealand, they did not come under the National Service Act, which called up men when they reached the military age. The Maori was always a volunteer. For them it was an honour to serve. ...Show more

40 Squadron R.N.Z.A.F “To the Four Winds”

$20.00 NZD

Category: World Military History

A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan

$26.50 NZD

Category: World Military History

Lt Colonel John Paul Vann went to Vietnam in 1962, but soon became appalled by the slaughter, leaking his pessimistic assessments to the US press corps in Saigon. Neil Sheehan was among them, and became fascinated by the angry Vann, befriended him, and followed his tragic and reckless career.

A Fair Sort of Battering New Zealanders Remember the Italian Campaign by Megan Hutching

$47.50 NZD

Category: World Military History

A History of the Ho Chi Minh Trail - The Road to Freedom by Virginia Morris; Clive A. Hills

$25.00 NZD

Category: World Military History | Series: History Ser.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a decisive factor in the defeat of American forces in the Vietnam War. Interviewing villagers along the Trail, as well as key military and political figures on both sides of the conflict, this work traces the footsteps of the hundreds of thousands who designed, built, used and fought along it. The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a decisive factor in the defeat of American forces in the Vietnam War. At the peak of its 16 years' operation, the Trail ran through North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Despite an estimated 4 million tons of US bombs, efforts to ...Show more

A Long Road to Progress by Richard Hall

$20.00 NZD

Category: World Military History

As Commander of the New Zealand troops in the Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Hall gained a unique insight into the lives of Kiwi soldiers serving in a harsh climate amid daily threats, as well as into the lives of the locals.This is an important and fascinating view of New Zealand's ro le in Afghanistan. ...Show more

A Nurse at War: Emily Peter, 1858-1927 by Joan Woodward & Glenys Mitchell

$37.50 NZD

Category: World Military History

DoP Sept 2008, Christchurch Raised on a remote sheep farm in the Mid Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, Emily Peters (1858-1927) had a remarkable career as a nurse. In the 1890s she travelled to the United Kingdom to train at Westminster Hospital. She then nursed in England and served as a nurse in the South African War and in Serbia and Egypt during World War I. In this intriguing book, two authors, Joan Woodward and Glenys Mitchell, have linked Emily Peter's surviving papers - among them a fascinating nursing casebook and a vivid war diary - into a narrative account of an extraordinary life of devotion to helping others. The book illuminates the history of nursing in England and New Zealand. It also casts a light on an emerging New Zealand nationhood and on women's emancipation. In Emily Peter's life and writings readers will see New Zealanders of British descent becoming a distinct people with their own national characteristics over a single generation. ...Show more

A Sacrificial Pawn: Being a Memoir of his War Experiences, Particularly of his Time as a Prisoner of the Japanese, 1942-1945 by Peter R Jackson

$37.50 NZD

Category: World Military History

A Sacrificial Pawn is a story of survival. Peter Jackson was young and recently married when he was drafted into the army at the start of Wiorld War 2. He had no wish to be there but like most of his generation he was given no choice. Peter arrived in Singapore just as the city was being evacuated and w ithin days he was a prisoner of the imperial Japanese Army. Peter was lucky to survive the brutality that followd. Like so many he was forced to work for the Japanese, first in Singapore and then on the infamous Thai-Burma railway. While there he escaped with seven other soldiers and when re-captured he was treated harshly. His memoir brings alive the characters of the various soldiers and also of the Japanese whom he encountered. Some of the Japanese he met treated their prisoners more humanely and Peter was able to form a friendship with them. But throughout his memoir there is a sense of hopefulness that as young men they would survive and get back to their homes; this was despite the despair amny of them felt at losing four years of their lives as prisoners. ...Show more

A Soldier's View of Empire The Reminiscences of James Bodell 1831-92 by Keith Sinclair

$55.00 NZD

Category: World Military History