Ken Fergusson : Books : Military
| 1. | Asprey, Robert B. The First Battle of the Marne | |
| Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1962. Good condition DW sl. dusty and chipped top edges of spine. Photographs and maps. 212pp. This gives a memorable account of the 5 day battle which was essentially a conflict of man against man with most of the Commanders as bewildered by the orders of their superiors as they were by the actions of the enemy. When it was over, the German dream of quick victory had vanished and the stage was set for the terrible slaughters of 1915 and 1916. | ||
| Price: £ 12.50 | ||
| 2. | Braddon, Russell The Siege | |
| Jonathan Cape 1969 1969 first edition. V. good to fine condition, DW fine, price clipped on front inside cover. Tells the story of the siege of Kut el Amarah in the winter of 1915-16 - the most humiliating and most futile disaster to befall a British force until the rout of Singapore. Col. frontis and many photos. through the text. Maps on end-papers and five maps through the text. | ||
| Price: £ 24.00 | ||
| 3. | Carell, Paul Hitler's War on Russia : The Story of the German Defeat in the East | |
| Harrap 1964 First English edition. 1964 first English edition. V. good ( slight shaking to rear paste-down paper but hinge remains strong)condition - dust wrapper has been repaired with backing paper but does not appear too unsightly as most of illustration and text remains intact. Translated from the German by Ewald Osers - rarely has this war of attrition been reconstructed in such authentic detail and with such starkly dramatic effect as it is in this account. The author, basing his story on official military records, the memoirs of Commanders in both German and Russian armies, and extensive conversations with survivors of all ranks, draws an objective extraordinarily vivid picture which, in the size of the forces involved and the ferocity of the fighting was unparalleled in the history of war. Illus. with maps and many contemporary photographs - including some in colour. 640pp. - complete with pull-out map. | ||
| Price: £ 45.00 | ||
| 4. | Chandler, David A Travellers Guide to the Battlefields of Europe - 2vols | |
| Hugh Evelyn, 1965. A two volume set. Vol. 1 (201pp) covers Western Europe. Vol. 2 (194pp)covers Central and Eastern Europe. Good to v. good condition in sim. DW - each has a 3x4" label front-end-paper indicating the book was for reference only and not lent for home reading - hence the good condition,. The end-papers of each book show signs of there being a library sticker. | ||
| Price: £ 25.00 | ||
| 5. | Coates, WP and Zelda K. The Soviet-Finnish Campaign- 1939 - 1940 Military and Political | |
| Eldon Press London 1941. Good condition with sim. DW although spine of DW sunned. Carries signed inscription of previous owner in ink. 172pp. It is not easy to assess the gains and losses of in the Russo=Finnish war 1939-1940, the Russians gained some strategic positions and by doing so compelled the Germans 18 months later to launch their assault against the Soviet Union from far less advanced and advantageous springboards. On the other hand the Russians forfeited for many vital months the goodwill of many Labour and radical sympathisers the world over. This describes this situation in comprhensive detail. In the winter war the Finns gained a deseved fame for valour and military skill but they did lose Hango, Viborg the isthmus and the Mannerheim line. They also lost 60,000 dead which is as many as the French sacrificed. | ||
| Price: £ 17.50 | ||
| 6. | compiled by W. Macnab Technical Records of Explosives Supply 1915-1918. No. 5 Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid by Contact Process | |
| HMSO 1921 ( Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) 128pp. includes many line drawings of industrial plant and four photographic plates. Original binding, cloth spine, paper boards. Binding tight, internally very good. Front end-paper and rear end-paper carry rubber stamp "Brotherton & Co. Ltd." | ||
| Price: £ 50.00 | ||
| 7. | compiled by W. Macnab Technical Records of Explosives Supply 1915-1918. No. 6 Synthetic Phenol and Picric AcidSulphuric Acid by Contact Process | |
| HMSO 1921 ( Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) 94pp. illustrated with line drawings of production plant,& one photographic plate. Cloth spine, paper covered boards. Front board has chip. Internally very good with tight binding. End papers back and front carry the stamp "Brotherton & Co. Ltd." | ||
| Price: £ 85.00 | ||
| 8. | compiled by W. Macnab Technical Records of Explosives Supply 1915-1918. No. 7 Manufacture of Nitric Acid from Nitre and Sulphuric Acidulphuric Acid by Contact Process | |
| HMSO 1922 ( Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) 86pp. illustrated with line drawings of production plant. Cloth spine, paper covered boards, Front and back end-papers carry stamp of Brotherton & Co. | ||
| Price: £ 85.00 | ||
| 9. | Crown Copyright Booby Traps - pamphlet 7 in the series on field engineering and mine warfare(WO8741) | |
| War Office 1952 1952 - a well-used (covers quite grubby with 1" tear bottom spine) but internally clean complete copy. 70pp. Many diagrams of devices and application. | ||
| Price: £ 30.00 | ||
| 10. | Crown Copyright Demolitions - pamphlet No.4 of part2 All Arms vol.2 field engineering. Code no. 70398 | |
| War Office 1974 54pp. - loose leaf with ties. Internally clean though original covers show evidence much handling. Inlcudes syllabus of training of all arms in the use of explosives, destruction of guns, armoured vehicles and the use of Bangalore torpedo for trench making. | ||
| Price: £ 20.00 | ||
| 11. | Major-General Parotkin (editor-in-chief) The Battle of Kursk | |
| Progress Publishers. First English translation of this USSR publication. With contributions from all of the Soviet military leaders and military historians, the book describes the confrontation between soviet armoured units and German Panzers: progress of battle and specifics of the Soviet art of war. Front end-paper carries name of previous owner, in ink and date, OW very good in similar dustrapper. 7 pages of appendices showing units operating in the field. One large (A4)pull-out map of battle geography showing lines of progression by date. 350 pages 20cms x 14 cms. Portraits of most of the uniformed contributers. | ||
| Price: £ 28.50 | ||
| 12. | Perrett, Knights of the Black Cross : Hitler's Panzerwaffe and its Leaders | |
| Robert Hale 1986. V. good condition with good DW showing only sl. signs of wear. 266pp. illus. with photographs and maps. The German Armoured Corps (The Panzerwaffe was instrumental in the mighty conquests of the Nazis between 1939 and 1942, and in the remaining years of the war, it provided the very back-bone of German defence. The German tank soldiers tactical abilities provided the basis of Soviet war theories to this day. The book described the evolution of tactics and the development of superlative fighting vehicles. | ||
| Price: £ 15.00 |