Pen and Sword have developed an unrivalled reputation for the quality and scope of its battlefield guides.
We are proud to publish the Holt's Series of Guide Books. Tonie and Valmai Holt are the pioneers of battlefield touring, having developed the concept nearly 40 years ago. Now millions visit the battlefields every year and their bestselling titles have been assisting with this for many years.
For those looking to understand battles in a bit more detail, then the battleground series, now with over 100 titles in print, is perfect for the armchair historian or battlefield traveller alike.
I am a great fan of this Battleground series and author Jerry Murland has done a good job on this one covering an element of the fighting of the BEF in 1940. They are also a handy size to keep in the car or in a backpack when you visit the area. I will certainly take this with me next time I am in the area. For those who do want to visit the area, I would add a personal note that there is also a site from later in the war a short way west of Hazebrouck, near Morbeque, where a V1 site remains largely intact in the Foret de Huit Rues so an interesting area to tour and only a short drive from the Channel Tunnel as well.
[link=http://www.militarymodelscene.com/cassel-and-hazebrouck-pands]Click here[/link] to read the full review
Robin Buckland - Military Model Scene
I am a great fan of this Battleground series and author Jerry Murland has done a good job on this one covering an element of the fighting of the BEF in 1940. They are also a handy size to keep in the car or in a backpack when you visit the area. I will certainly take this with me next time I am in the area. For those who do want to visit the area, I would add a personal note that there is also a site from later in the war a short way west of Hazebrouck, near Morbeque, where a V1 site remains largely intact in the Foret de Huit Rues so an interesting area to tour and only a short drive from the Channel Tunnel as well.
[link=http://www.militarymodelscene.com/cassel-and-hazebrouck-pands]Click here[/link] to read the full review
Robin Buckland - Military Model Scene
The book contains many excellent archive photos, and mixes them with some modern day comparisons, maps of localised actions, plus pictures of some surviving memorabilia. In addition to the basic chronology of events it includes the stories of Allied and German troops who were there at the time, telling their stories in relation to the fighting, stories which quite graphically bring the events to life. Some are photographed visiting the area again in more recent days, elderly gentlemen able to meet in more friendly circumstance. It also highlights the civilian casualties and the heavy cost of their liberation from German occupation. This 253 page hardback book is heavily illustrated throughout and combine perfectly with a well written and well researched account of the events in this battle in the hedgerows of Normandy. Indeed, some modern day comparisons show just how overgrown some of those small roads and paths in the are still are. The book shows how tough a job both attacker and defenders.. Read more
Robin Buckland - Military Model Scene
The book contains many excellent archive photos, and mixes them with some modern day comparisons, maps of localised actions, plus pictures of some surviving memorabilia. In addition to the basic chronology of events it includes the stories of Allied and German troops who were there at the time, telling their stories in relation to the fighting, stories which quite graphically bring the events to life. Some are photographed visiting the area again in more recent days, elderly gentlemen able to meet in more friendly circumstance. It also highlights the civilian casualties and the heavy cost of their liberation from German occupation. This 253 page hardback book is heavily illustrated throughout and combine perfectly with a well written and well researched account of the events in this battle in the hedgerows of Normandy. Indeed, some modern day comparisons show just how overgrown some of those small roads and paths in the are still are. The book shows how tough a job both attacker and defenders.. Read more
Robin Buckland - Military Model Scene
A comprehensive and highly emotive volume, borne of years of intensive research and many trips to the battlefields of World War One. It seeks to humanise the Menin Gate Memorial North, to offer the reader a chance to engage with the personal stories of the soldiers whose names have been chiselled there in stone.
The Armourer, February 2017
A comprehensive and highly emotive volume, borne of years of intensive research and many trips to the battlefields of World War One. It seeks to humanise the Menin Gate Memorial North, to offer the reader a chance to engage with the personal stories of the soldiers whose names have been chiselled there in stone.
The Armourer, February 2017
Throughout the book there are plenty of archive photos and maps, along with a good selection of modern pictures which illustrate what you can see there today. These include some of the mule tracks which remain in place, along with some of the dugouts and trenches that were burrowed into the rock, and equally are still there to be seen. Annotated maps and diagrams help to understand what you can see and relating it to the history of what happened there all those years ago. There are plenty of details of memorials and the cemeteries which you can visit while there, so plenty of very useful touring information for the battlefield visitor.
Just the thing to have with you if you visit the area today.
Read the full review online [link=http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/asiago-italy/24054]here.[/link]
Military Modelling, Robin Buckland
Throughout the book there are plenty of archive photos and maps, along with a good selection of modern pictures which illustrate what you can see there today. These include some of the mule tracks which remain in place, along with some of the dugouts and trenches that were burrowed into the rock, and equally are still there to be seen. Annotated maps and diagrams help to understand what you can see and relating it to the history of what happened there all those years ago. There are plenty of details of memorials and the cemeteries which you can visit while there, so plenty of very useful touring information for the battlefield visitor.
Just the thing to have with you if you visit the area today.
Read the full review online [link=http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/asiago-italy/24054]here.[/link]
Military Modelling, Robin Buckland
With more and more people opting to visit the various battlefields of the first world war, these tourist guides from Pen and Sword are absolutely invaluable.
Books Monthly, November 2016 – reviewed by Paul Norman
With more and more people opting to visit the various battlefields of the first world war, these tourist guides from Pen and Sword are absolutely invaluable.
Books Monthly, November 2016 – reviewed by Paul Norman
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Aisne 1914
The 1914 Battle of the Aisne, officially from 12 – 15 September, came about as a result of the German retirement from the Battle of the Marne, which took place further south as the huge conscript armies of France and Germany jostled for position almost within sight of Paris. By the time the British arrived on the Aisne the battle line stretched some… Read more...
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Fort Vaux
The bitter fight for Fort Vaux is one of the most famous episodes in the Battle of Verdun - it has achieved almost legendary status in French military history. The heroic resistance put up by the fort's commander, Major Raynal, and his small, isolated garrison in the face of repeated German assaults was remarkable at the time, and it is still seen… Read more...
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Operation Bluecoat-Over the Battlefield
After seven weeks of bitter fighting there was a desperate need to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. In late July 1944 Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey's Second Army moved two entire corps from the Caen sector to the relatively quiet countryside around Caumont. Here, the British XXX Corps prepared to give battle, with VII Corps advancing in… Read more...
The invasion was launched to round off Hitler's Balkan Campaign against Crete in May 1941. The Island was important to Britain's control of the Eastern Mediterranean and Churchill was determined that the Island would be held. The British garrison was largely made up of New Zealand and Australian troops who had been evacuated from Greece, with little… Read more...
