"German exploitation of the Arab nationalist movements in World War II extended from the field of strategic planning at the highest levels of command to the military measures actually taken. General der Flieger Helmut Felmy has presented an account of the military measures taken by Germany. Under the terms of Hitler's Directive No. 30 of 23 May 1941, and the "Service Regulations for Special Staff F" of 21 June 1941, General Felmy was appointed as the central authority for all Arab affairs concerning the Wehrmacht. Of all contemporary authorities on the subject still available, he therefore has the most thorough knowledge of the military steps actually taken on the German side." >>More
"Because of the difficulties encountered in this highly specialized field the topic required treatment by an expert of recognized standing. Since such an expert was not available among the men in the German Control Group working under the supervision of the Historical Division, SUCOM, the writing of the over-all report was assigned to General Praun. By virtue of the knowledge acquired by him in his military career, and especially during the tenure of his final position, General Praun has a thorough grasp of German radio intelligence. Moreover, as a result of his acquaintance with German signal service personnel, he was able to obtain the co-operation of the foremost experts in this field." >>More
"The tentative study, "The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941)," is an account of a Nazi blitz in which political machinations and military policy were synchronised and utilized to insure rapidity in decision, in planning, in concentration, end in operations. The campaigns culminated in the largest mass airborne attack that had ever been launched up to that time. The success of this action captivated the minds of Allied military men and probably helped create the very considerable airborne force organized by Great Britain and the United States. Little did they know at the time of the serious loss sustained by the Germans who never again employed any considerable number of airborne troops in an air landing. It is believed that this study, although tentative, will prove of interest and of value to all serious military students." >>More
"The reason for the compilation of this report was the desire to preserve significant historical information before it became lost or misplaced with time. It is hoped that this book has given the reader an inside view of the tremendous amount of work in development, research, and technology which had to be performed within the last 25 to 30 years to make our today's "Space Effort" possible. This report shows the very early, but real simple or crude start of our rocket, missile, and space development and gives an appreciation of the amount of research performed to come from the "Grand-Daddy" (A-4/V-2) to our present "Space Vehicles" (Saturn IB and Saturn V)." >>More
"Soviet Anti-War propaganda posters, 1960s - 1980s." >>More
"This study will chiefly be concerned with the operations of the Second Panzer Army which were commanded by the author. The theme will also be illustrated with examples from other Panzer Armies." >>More
"Specialized knowledge and guides are usually necessary to make identifications of enemy weapons, field equipment, and installations on air reconnaissance photographs. This publication, arranged as a guide for ground force interpreters, is intended primarily for men with the specialized knowledge requisite to derive maximum information from aerial photographs. Photographic examples are given of typical Japanese installations and materiel." >>More
"THERE have been many attempts in recent years to produce a really effective air-cooled machine gun suitable for general military, naval and aerial service. The advantages possessed by such an arm are recognized universally but the practical difficulties in the way of its development have been so many and of such a character as to lead to complete failure of the attempt in most cases and to only partial success in others. The successful weapon must be capable of sufficiently sustained rapid fire to meet the severest emergency demand of the modern battlefield, without change of barrels or other assembled parts, and without the use of water for cooling purposes. It must be sufficiently light and portable to be carried easily by a single foot soldier to any firing-point accessible to infantry. It must be capable of firing at a moment's notice in any direction from any position, from any sort of mount, rest, or cover and must not be dependent upon any special equipment, tools, or other extras to insure at all times a condition of readiness for immediate service. The Lewis Machine Gun is designed to meet these ideal requirements." >>More
Photo collection of Colonel V. Klembovsky, published by Museum of Sevastopol Defense in 1904 to commemorate 50th anniversary of the siege. >>More
Original comic-style Il-2 "Sturmovik" illustrated flight manual, published in 1942 by Engineering Service of the Red Army Air Force. Covers pre-flight inspection, checking engine before take-off, check and preparation of the radio transmitter, preparations for take-off and take-off, flight in battlefield conditions, and flight completion. >>More
"February, 3rd, 1943. To Deputy of the National Commissioner of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Commissioner of State Security Third Rank comrade Abakumov. According your order, I placed agents on the premises, occupied by captured German generals. With Paulus and Schmidt I placed an agent of counter-intelligence department, junior lieutenant of the state security comrade Tarabrin, who speaks German language well, and our representative Nesterov. Tarabrin's task was to write down all discussions of German POWs, not revealing his knowledge of German language, and present his notes in the diary form." >>More
"The collection in this volume includes many of CIA's most important documents on the Cuban missile crisis. It contains the "honeymoon cables" that Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) John A. McCone sent to Headquarters from France a month before the missile crisis, as well as McCone's notes taken during the National Security Council Executive Committee meetings at the height of the crisis. It also includes intelligence memorandums and estimates, briefing papers, Cuban refugee reports, and memorandums on Operation MONGOOSE, aimed at destabilizing the Castro regime. Many of the evaluations of the missile threat contained here draw upon IRONBARK material, whose source was Soviet Colonel Oleg Penkovsky." >>More
"The drama of Crete marks an epic in warfare. The concept of the operation was highly imaginative, daringly new. Combat elements drawn from Central Eerope moved with precision into funnel shaped Greece. Here they re-formed, took shape as a balanced force, were given wings. The operation had the movement, rhythm, harmony of a master's organ composition. On 20 May and succeeding days this force soared through space; its elements broke over CRETE in thundering crescendos - all stops out. For the first time in history airborne troops, supplied and supported, by air, landed in the face of an enemy, defeated him. For the first time an air force defeated a first-rate Navy, inflicted such staggering losses that the fleet was ordered back to Alexandria three days after the battle started." >>More
"Eugene Politovsky, Chief engineer of the 2nd Pacific Fleet, was born at Tashkent on November 12th, 1874. He received his education at the Emperor Nicholas I Naval Engineering School, and graduated it in 1897. Up to the departure of the fleet for the East he served at the Admiralty at St. Petersburg. He went down in his ship, the battleship Prince Suvaroff, in the fight of May 14th, 1905. This diary consists of extracts from his letters to his wife, which it must be understood were not intended for publication. The diary is written entirely from the personal point of view of the author. He shares with the human being dearest to him everything that occupies or interests him. He writes in fragments, with detached sentences, sometimes snatching a few spare minutes from his duties for his letters. His diary is a full one. Scarce a day is omitted from the departure from Libau up to May 14th. Involuntarily, one is impressed by the sincerity and justice of the author's tone. As he thought, so he wrote.His style is very simple and graphic, despite its fragmentary nature. The author was a fleet engineer, not a sailor. This was his first cruise. His views of all that he saw are those of an independent person, bound by no traditions or clannishness. They appear to be absolutely impartial. In addition, through his position on the staff he knew much that remained unknown to others." >>More
Nazi Collaboration Posters 1939-1945. >>More
1. Military parade in China. 2. Night military exercises on Bobochinsky range, Russia). >>More
"The Gatlitig gun, shown on its carriage in Fig. 1, may be described as consisting of a number of very simple breech-loading rifled barrels grouped around and revolving about a common axis, with which they lie parallel. These component barrels are loaded and fired while revolving, the empty cartridge-shells being ejected in continuous succession." >>More
Collection of German photograsphic postcards covering events of 1914-1916 on all fronts: Battlefields; generals, soldiers and officers; life in the trenches; military hardware; POWs and deserters; German allies and enemies; destruction and misery of war. Part I and Part II
"Dezhnev out of the picture, Scheer concentrated her fire on Revolutionary (under command of captain Panfilov), barely visible through the smoke screen. In 5 minutes this Russian ship took 3 hits, which started fire on the deck and wooden bridge, damaged several compartments inside the ship, and, most importantly, destroyed steam line, powering anchor-winch, preventing ship from weighing the anchor, and making her another sitting duck, easy target for German gun practice. Luckily for the Russians, Scheer hadn’t been able yet to observe third ship, Kara, heavily laden with explosives and with few members of the crew on board, still invisible behind the protection of the rocky shore and Dezhnev’s smoke screen. Even one well-placed shell would be enough to produce huge explosion and completely obliterate port and defense forces. That hadn't happened so far, but obviously, Kara’s discovery was only a matter of minutes. Russians found themselves on the verge of complete annihilation. All their naval forces were out of action and it seems nothing stood between German landing party and command center of the Northern Sea Route." >>More
"This pamphlet was compiled from a series of reports written especially for the Historical Division, EUCOM, by several former German generals. All of these officers had extensive combat experience during World War II, especially on the eastern front. The principal author, for example, was successively chief of staff of a corps in France and Holland (1939-40), commander of an infantry division in northern and central Russia (1941-43), instructor at a school for division commanders in Berlin (1943), commander of a corps in southern Russia (1943-44), and acting commander of an army in southern Russia (1944)." >>More
Training film for IL-2 pilots, produced by the Red Army Air Force Research Institute in 1943. (24 min). Detailed and extensive instructions, based on the official Red Air Force IL-2 manual, unique close-ups, authentic winter background. Russian narrator, with English subtitles. >>More
"This study was prepared by a committee of former German generals and general staff officers under the supervision of the Historical Division, EUCOM. The material, based on the personal experiences of the principal author [Erhard Raus] and his associates, was written largely from memory, with some assistance from diaries, earlier studies, and documents. All the German officers involved had extensive experience on the Eastern Front during the period 1941-45. The principal author, for example, commanded in succession a panzer division, a panzer army, and an army group." >>More
"THE original work, Die Deutschen Luftstreitkrafte im Weltkriege, is approximately three times the size of this English version. As Major Neumann points out in his Preface, his object has been to accumulate records concerning everything that appertains to the German Air Force, not only with regard to its history, but also with regard to its development in technical design and organisation. He has been assisted in this endeavour by twenty-nine contributors, each one of whom is a specialist in some branch of the aircraft industry or flying service, and it is well to mention that the result is a very comprehensive and accurate survey." >>More
A World War I memoir by the famous German officer, a brain behind the German war efforts on the Russian front during World War I. In August 1914 von Hoffmann served in East Prussia, and it were primarily his plans, prepared even before Gindenburg's arrival, which were used to win the epic battle of Tannenberg, the most decisive German victory in the First World War. He was also responsible for the successful winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes in Feb. 1915 and Gorlice breakthrough, which ended a century-long Russian dominance in Eastern Poland. In July 1916 von Hoffmann was instrumental in organizing Austrian response to the Russian Brusilov offensive 1916 and planned bold and imaginative Riga offensive in July 1917, the most humuliating and eventually fatal blow against Russian provisional government under Kerensky. Von Hoffmann highlighted his career on the Eastern front as Hindenburg & Ludendorff's representative at the Brest-Litovsk peace negotiations with Russia and then as de-facto military ruler of the conquered Russian provinces. He ends the book, first published in 1923 with his bitter comments on what Germany could have done to win the war and how the numerous opportunities were let to slip away, popular tune, which would constitute an important part of the Third Reich's Weltschauung. >>More
Roger Fenton's Crimean War photo series is the first historic attempt to portray war campaign with the help of new magic photo media, then still in its infancy. Sent as a replacement for the Richard Nicklin, a civilian photographer, who was lost at sea, along with his assistants, photographs, and equipment, when their ship sank during the hurricane that stuck the harbor at Balaklava on November 14, 1854. Fenton spend 4 months 1855 in Crimea (March-June), recording participants and landscapes for posterity. >>More
Soviet War paintings. Part II. >>More
Best-selling author and former Soviet Army itelligence operative Victor Suvorov analyzes Joseph Stalin's alleged strategic design to conquer Europe and his reasons for supporting Nazi Germany. Suvorov debunks mainstream theories that Stalin was duped by Hitler and that the Soviet Union was a victim of Nazi aggression. This interesting discussion was organized by Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. on February 2, 2009. Victor Suvorov was joined by Andrei Piontkovsky and David Sutter and responded to many questions from the audience. Discussion was moderated by Richard Weitz, Director of Hudson's Center for Political-Military Analysis. >>More
"This pamphlet is largely the work of soldiers and airmen fighting in Burma and the South West Pacific who, in notes, sketches and photographs, have recorded their observations of the Japanese in Battle." [Foreword to the First edition]. "The object of this pamphlet is to indicate briefly the chief characteristics of Japanese behaviour in the field as they differ from our own and that of western generally. Principles and methods which the Japanese share with most other armies are touched on lightly or passed over. Japanese strategy, though it too is strong peculiarities, is not dealt with in this pamphlet, which restricts itself to tactics, major and minor. The description of Japanese tactics is based on observation of Japanese practice in the field rather than on the rules laid down in Japanese mlitary handbooks, to which their practice often bears little relation.[Introduction to the second edition]." >>More
These videos were taken on the cell phones of the dead and captured Gerogian soldiers before and during the Battle for Zhinvali, August 8, 2008. Video includes 4 parts: Georgian rocket artillery fires on Zhinvali; Georgian Army unit destroys Zhinvali city sign on the Zhinvali-Tbilisi highway; Georgian infantry before the battle for Zhinvali; Column of the Georgian armor enters Zhinvali. 10 min, Georgian language >>More
"IN the study of the campaigns of Alexander, original research has been limited to a few travelers and geographers, or to military men conducting explorations under the auspices of some government and provided with facilities denied to most of us. In the case of Hannibal it is different. Spain and Italy are accessible, as Persia and Afghanistan are not, and the topography of the theatre of the Second Punic War can be readily examined and ascertained. No historian of Hannibal appears, however, to have studied his campaigns on the ground. Almost all accounts of his extraordinary marches, manoeuvres and battles borrow their topography, if they give any, from some predecessor equally limited in his facilities, or from very insufficient maps. Many errors have thus been propagated. The author has been fortunate enough repeatedly to visit the scenes of the Punic captain's achievements. With Polybius and Livy in the hand, he has followed Hannibal from Cartagena across the Pyrenees, the Rhone and the Alps, crossing every pass in the latter range by which the Carthaginian army could possibly have made its way; he has visited every section of Italy and has compared the facts given by the ancient writers with the existing topography; he has been able to consult the best authorities as to the geological changes which the centuries may have wrought: and what he has herein described is from diligent study of the authorities on the ground. This course has enabled him to correct some errors which naturally enough have crept into history, and to harmonize some of the statements of the old authors which have been deemed irreconcilable." >>More
"Die Pistole 1900/06 ist eine automatische Waffe. Als solche bezweckt sie — nebst der Erreichung eines hohen Feuereffektes — durch das selbsttätige Oeffnen, Spannen und Schliessen des Verschlusses, die mechanische Tätigkeit des Schützen zu reduzieren, damit, abgesehen vom paketweisen Laden, seine volle Kraft und Aufmerksamkeit verwendet werde auf die Haupttätigkeiten: Zielen und Abfeuern." >>More
"The present Yellow Book is a collection of the most important among the documents which bring out clearly the course of French diplomatic action from September 29, 1938, the date of the Munich Agreement, to September 3, 1939, the date when France and Great Britain, in execution of their pledges of assistance, declared themselves to be in a state of war with Germany." >>More
"In 1943 the German authorities published a special report under the title: "The Official Statement Concerning the Mass Murder at Katyn. Collected, prepared and edited by the German Information Bureau on the basis of documentary evidence by order of the German Foreign Office."[Amthches Material zum Massenmord van Katyn." Berlin 1943.] This volume of 330 pages begins with a short introductory section entitled "General Outline", followed by the "Documentary Evidence", divided in five chapters." >>More
"The present volume is a Hand Book of the Horse Guards published by His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia, President: of Honour of the Association of Former Officers of the Horse Guards, Imperial Russian Guards, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the foundation of this regiment, which took place in Paris on April 26th, 1931." >>More
"Russland 1941/42" is an extensive photo collection, made by German soldier from Panzer Artillery Regiment 78 (7th Panzer "Ghost" Division, formerly Erwin Rommel's) in Russia. These undated and unnamed photos were re-arranged in 7 categories: Pz. Artillerie-Regiment 78 and 7th Panzer in action, German signature "Totem poles", German graves and graveyards, Luftwaffe exploits as seen from the ground, "getting to know locals", Russian POWs and dead, destroyed and captured Russian airplanes, tanks and other hardware, war destruction and a number of unsorted miscellaneous collages. >>More
"One of the essential conditions for the success of the conspiracy of 20 July 1944 was the maintenance of absolute secrecy. Even those persons who played an active role in the dvelopment of the conspiracy were not informed of all its details. Naturally, too, very few written notes were made which an exhaustive, documented report could be prepared. For that reason, I will set down my own experiences in detail, while giving only general treatment to information derived from others." >>More
Photos from the Israeli-Gaza war, December 2008-January 2009. >>More
"A survey of German tactics during 1918 is facilitated by the dramatic change that came over the situation on the 18th of July. Up to that date we are concerned with offensive tactics; after that date only with defensive. The subject thus naturally divides in two. At the head of the German Army as the spring campaign opened was Field Marshal von Hindenburg, an exponent of offensive tactics, who had up till then, and quite recently in the attack on Riga, met with remarkable successes. In the early phases of the war, and on the Eastern front, Hindenburg had more or less practiced von Schlieffen's Cannae theory,—the refusal of the centre and double envelopment of the wings. With the immense frontal developments of the later stages of the war, this tactical scheme became less and less workable and the tendency became rather to search out and exploit a weak point in the opponent's line." >>More
Covers and special reports from the magazines, published in France, Germany and Great Britain during the First World War 1914-1918: miltary leaders, famous soldiers from both sides, troops, weapons, battlefields, life in the trenches, propaganda pieces. >>More
This unique Italian sketchbook includes more than 200 highly detailed sketches and provides valuable insights into design and construction principles of Renaissance fortresses; siege and storm tactics of the era; guns development and gunnery intricacies; handling of the heavy objects, guns and siege towers on the battlefield; working principles of hydraulics mechanisms; distance, angle and height measurements for siege works and target acquisition; etc. >>More
"In the next few years there will be many appraisals of the contribution of air power to this greatest of all historic struggles, and it is with this in mind that the present compilation of documents as future source material has been made. The reports included are of a variety of types, but all of them contain statements concerning the effects of air power on the German War Machine by German officers and officials who were in positions where the impact of air power could best be estimated. No attempt has been made to "edit" the material included; intelligence reports and newspaper accounts alike have been presented exactly as they were submitted. The latter section of this compilation has been devoted to a handy reference in which the more important statements have been indexed by subject." >>More
"This serial contains all pertinent information concerning the Navy of the U.S.S.R available in the Division of Naval Intelligence. It covers the organization of the Soviet Navy, naval policy, personnel, tactics and operations, naval ordnance, an estimate of the strength and disposition of the various fleets and descriptions of the units which comprise them, descriptions of all known naval bases and yards, of the naval air force and of coast defense." >>More
"German policy has consistently emphasized the development of highly mobile armies, and Germany's military successes have been gained in wars of maneuver. During the past 25 years the German High Command has become thoroughly convinced of the soundness of the Schlieffen theories of movement, envelopment, and annihilation, especially since Germany's central location- in Europe gives her the advantage of interior lines of communication—a decided strategic advantage in a war of maneuver. Indoctrined and trained in the Schlieffen theories, German armies were successful in the Franco-Prussian War, in World War I (until they became involved in trench warfare of attrition), and in the Polish, Norwegian, and western European campaigns of World War II. However, Germany's central position ceases to be an advantage "whenever her enemies can so combine that they engage her in a two-front war. Her transportation, manpower, and other resources are not sufficient to insure a decisive victory on two sides at once. In order to escape this prospect, the German High Command reached the conclusion that at least one side Germany could and must- secure herself with a great fortified system. A doctrine of permanent fortifications, exhaustive in scope, was formulated under the title "The Stabilized Front" (Die Standige Front). The classic concept of fortifications—isolated fortress cities and a line of fortified works—was abandoned as obsolete. The German High Command developed new principles in the light of modern warfare, weapons, and air power which called for the construction of permanent fortifications in systems of zones, organized in great depth. By "stabilized front" they meant not only the fixed positions which the field armies might be compelled to establish during a campaign, but also the 'deep zones of fortified works which would be constructed in peacetime." >>More
"This report represents the results of tests conducted on the various parts of Japanese Balloons that have been submitted to the Technical Air Intelligence Center for examination. There has, in this report, been no effort to evaluate the various aspects of the subject, but merely to present the material in a readily usable form to facilitate any studies that might be made. In order that there be more accurate reporting of the material found, the reporting form was created. It represents the combined effort of the Military Intelligence Service of the Army and the Office of Naval Intelligence of the Navy, but is in no sense final, and constructive criticism both as to content and form is welcome. It is easily recognised that the use of the form will result in more accurate transmission of information. The composite table was created from every source available and since the reports were, in many cases, in conflict with each other, the resulting information may not be accurate in all cases and it is requested that any additional information that is now, or becomes available be transmitted, through channels, to the Army or Navy Agency in Washington that is appropriate." >>More
"On the reopening of The General Service Schools in September, 1919, and my return to my former position as Instructor in Strategy and Military History, I found that a desire had developed among American officers for American text-books. To meet this expressed desire and to write a text-book that could be available during the course, I merely had an opportunity to assemble the notes I had used in the past, supplementing them with such reference to The World War as the time would permit. Many of the illustrations used have been taken from our own Civil War." >>More
This video includes 2 training films: Snipers Field Training: Masters of Camouflage and Deception, Training film for the German Air Force High Command (38 min) and Snipers in action: the Unseen Weapon, Training film of the German Army High Command No 668, Spring 1944 (30 min). German narrator, with English subtitles. >>More
"During World War II the photographers of the United States armed forces created on film a pictorial record of immeasurable value. Thousands of pictures are preserved in the photographic libraries of the armed services but are little seen by the public. In the narrative volumes of United States Army in World War II, now being prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History of the United States Army, it is possible to include only a limited number of pictures. Therefore, a subseries of pictorial volumes, of which this is the last, has been planned to supplement the other volumes of the series. The photographs have been especially selected to show important terrain features, types of equipment and weapons, living and weather conditions, military operations, and matters of human interest. These volumes will preserve and make accessible for future reference some of the best pictures of World War II. An appreciation not only of the terrain upon which actions were fought, but also of its influence on the capabilities and limitations of weapons in the hands of both our troops and those of the enemy, can be gained through a careful study of the pictures herein presented. These factors are essential to a clear understanding of military history." >>More
"This Dictionary [contains approximately 15300 entries - AWW] has been intentionally limited in scope to military subject matter and directly related fields. It has been compiled primarily for use by American military personnel with at least a fair knowledge of German. As far as possible the editors have endeavored to furnish actual equivalents rather than literal translations from one language into the other. Thus, although the literal translation of Entwicklung would be "development," a study of the German operations manual reveals that Entwicklung follows Entfaltung ("development") and hence is the equivalent of "deployment." Translations have been provided (generally with a note of explanation) only where equivalents do not exist or could not be found." >>More