During 1941 the Germans occupied first Greece and the former Yuogslavia, then enormous areas of European Russia. Once the front line troops had moved on the struggle continued as bands of resistance fighters waged war against the occupation forces until their final withdrawal. The term 'partisan' is associated with Communist-led bands and they were often the most fanatical defenders of the Soviet realm. However, there were also non-Communist resistance groups which were nationalist and broadly constitutionalist and as a result a complicated three-way war developed. This book details the guerrilla war which was waged in the various regions and the uniforms and equipment of the combatants.

At 4am on Sunday 25 June 1950 powerful North Korean forces invaded South Korea, advancing down the Uijongbu Corridor towards the Southern Capital of Seoul. South Korean troops resisted bravely, but were crushed by overwhelming Northern superiority. Later that day the United Nations Security Council condemned the aggression, and on 7 July appointed US General of the Army Douglas MacArthur to command UN forces which would be sent to save South Korea. Nigel Thomas and Peter Abbott explore the history of this conflict, which pitted UN forces against the People's Republic of China in a resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties.

Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union, commenced on 22 June 1941. It became the biggest conflict in military history, with some three million German troops and about 900,000 allies facing almost 4.7 million Soviet troops. The effects would colour postwar European history for the next 50 years. This title examines the history of the conflict, and the organisation, uniforms and insignia of the German Army on the Eastern Front from 1941-43. The book contains numerous illustrations and photographs throughout, incuding eight fine full-page colour plates by Stephen Andrew. Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326, 330 and 336 are also available in a single volume special edition titled `German Army in World War II'.

Between 1941-45, the Germans recruited around 175,000 men from a number of minorities in the USSR, distinguishing between 'Turkomans' (predominantly Muslims) and 'Caucasians' (predominantly Orthodox Christians). Of these, many formed rear-area auxiliary units, but at least 55,000 were combat troops. The first recruits formed two battalions in the 444th Security Division raised as early as November 1941; during 1942-43 seven legions were formed, each of several battalions, eventually totalling some 53 battalions (equivalent to about 6 full divisions). However, with one exception (162nd Turkoman Division), they were not deployed as whole formations; after training in Poland, individual battalions were posted to fill out German regiments in the front lines, at first in Army Group South but later in all three Army Groups fighting on the Eastern Front. Units were also sent to Yugoslavia, Italy and the Western Front.
This fully illustrated history of the Eastern legions details the organization, battle orders, combat history, uniforms and insignia of these unique units, combining contemporary photographs and full-colour illustrations with expert research from military historian Dr Nigel Thomas.

This book covers the high command, the developments in unit organisation, the campaigns and the uniforms and equipment of the German Army in the last two years of the war in North-West Europe and Italy. Despite the huge pressure of fighting on three fronts, ever-worsening shortages of manpower and equipment, and Allied command of the skies, Germany's decimated divisions fought on with impressive skill and determination. This period of World War II (1939-1945) also saw a fascinating mixture of obsolescent, newly designed, and field-made combat clothing which gave the German soldier a radically different appearance from his predecessor of just five years before.

In early 1943, the annihilation of the 6th Army at Stalingrad marked the irreversible turning-point of World War II (1939-1945) in the East. Despite occasional local successes gained in the face of great odds - testimony to the Wehrmacht's extraordinary resilience - from now on Germany was on the defensive. Despite Hitler's damaging interference the quality of German field leadership, and of new weapons, remained high; but each new Soviet offensive pushed the front line closer to - and finally, across - the borders of the Reich. In this fourth title of their sequence author and artist describe and illustrate the developments in unit organization, uniforms and equipment during 1943-45, including information on European and Eastern volunteer units; text and illustrations are supported by detailed tables.

Hitler first considered an invasion of Great Britain in autumn 1940, then scheduled Operation Barbarossa, the conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union, for May 1941. Anxious to emulate Hitler's successes, the Italian dictator Mussolini embarked upon unnecessary military adventures in North Africa and the Balkans, which forced Hitler's intervention, diverting and depleting precious German resources, and a six-week postponement of Barbarossa. In this second of four volumes [Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326 & 330] on the German Army of the Second World War, Nigel Thomas examines the uniforms and insignia of the forces involved in North Africa and the Balkans. Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326, 330 and 336 are also available in a single volume special edition titled 'German Army in World War II'.

On 1 September 1939, when Germany attacked Poland, the Wehrmacht numbered 3,180,000 men. It eventually expanded to 9,500,000, and on 8-9 May 1945, the date of its unconditional surrender on the Western and Eastern Fronts, it still numbered 7,800,000. The Blitzkrieg period, from 1 September 1939 to 25 June 1940, was 10 months of almost total triumph for the Wehrmacht, as it defeated every country, except Great Britain, that took the field against it. In this first of five volumes examining the German Army of World War Two, Nigel Thomas examines the uniforms and insignia of Hitler's Blitzkrieg forces, including an overview of the Blitzkrieg campaign itself. Men-at-Arms 311, 316, 326, 330 and 336 are also available in a single volume special edition titled 'German Army in World War II'.

The Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania enjoyed a brief independence between the World Wars before being annexed by the USSR in 1940. The grim experience of Soviet occupation made it inevitable that after the German invasion of Russia in 1941 they would fight beside the Wehrmacht as allies against the Red Army while always hoping for restored independence. That hope was crushed again in 1944-45; yet 'Forest Brother' guerrillas continued to fight against hopeless odds for years after the second Soviet occupation. This extraordinary story is illustrated here with rare photos, insignia charts, tables of units and detailed uniform plates.

The years 1915–17 of World War I saw the Imperial German Army forced to adapt to the new realities of static trench warfare. Prewar uniforms and equipment had to be modified, for both utility and economy; on battlefields ruled by machine guns and artillery the steel helmet reappeared, as well as masks to protect against poison gas. The fashionable cavalry regiments soon proved irrelevant on the Western Front; many were dismounted to join the infantry, while new types of unit usurped their prestige – assault battalions, and the air corps. This second volume in a three-part sequence offers a mass of detail on organisation, uniforms and insignia, illustrated with rare photographs and meticulous colour artwork.

This third volume of a mini-series covering the German forces in World War I examines the troops that fought during the climax of the war on all fronts: the last great battles of attrition in the West (Arras, Messines, 3rd Ypres - Passchendaele/Langemarck - and Cambrai, 1917) and the collapse of Russia in the East. The 'Kaiserschlacht' campaign is covered, as are the German operations in Italy, the Balkans, and in support of Turkey in the Middle East. Uniform changes during this period reflected the introduction of new tactics and weapons and new types of troops, such as tanks and assault battalions.

In March 1941, an anti-German coup in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia prompted Hitler to order an invasion using allied Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Romanian forces. Operation Marita was an invasion of Yugoslavia and simultaneously Greece. At the same time, the constituent region of Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia and joined the Axis powers. Royal Yugoslav armed forces, despite advancing against the Italians in Albania were forced to surrender after 11 days' fighting and some 1,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors escaped to British-occupied Egypt to form Free Yugoslav units. From there, guerrilla resistance to the Axis occupiers broke out and continued with increasing strength until the end of the war under Mihailovic's royalist 'Chetniks' and Tito's Communist 'Partisans' (both supported by Britain). However, hostilities between the two movements eventually led to the Chetniks entering into local agreements with Italian occupation forces and Britain switching its support entirely to the Partisans. The advance of the Red Army increased Partisan strength and, during 1944-45, they created what could be described as a lightly equipped conventional army.
Using meticulously-drawn illustrations of different insignia, uniforms and equipment from each faction to bring the conflict alive, this volume describes, in detail, both the political and military implications of the war and how it was fought, setting the scene for the subsequent rise of Tito to power within Yugoslavia

Once predicted to be 'the Middle East of the Year 2000', Central America and the Caribbean have long been a powder keg of revolutionary activity and guerilla warfare. The United States, with important strategic and economic interests in the region, has traditionally opted for a military solution toward the political upheaval, developing a range of responses, from direct military intervention to the training of tens of thousands of Latin-American soldiers in anti-guerilla warfare techniques. This text, enhanced by colour plates and numerous photographs, examines the history of the Central American Wars by country, detailing the organization and uniforms of the combatants.

In a period of just over two years, from 15 March 1939 to 30 April 1941, ten countries were defeated in campaigns in which Nazi Germany deployed revolutionary techniques of mobile warfare. The breakneck speed of German victories allowed some defeated troops to escape to friendly countries, where their political leaders established governments-in-exile and formed them into military units to continue the struggle. The hard-pressed Western Allies welcomed this well-motivated manpower with open arms. Nigel Thomas investigates the foreign volunteers of the Western Allies in a fascinating text backed by contemporary photographs and eight full page colour plates by Simon McCouaig.

Though the 'Wehrmachtsgefolge' (Armed Forces Auxiliaries) were generally inferior to their armed forces equivalents, their contribution to the German war-effort was far from negligible. Auxiliaries including the NSKK, Transportkorps Speer, Reichsarbeitsdienst and Organization Todt supported the Wehrmacht in their duties. In 1944, the strength of these organizations peaked at 3,800,000-40% of the size of the armed forces. As they became increasingly aware of their importance, the Auxiliaries introduced uniform and insignia modifications which made them virtually indistinguishable from their comrades in the armed forces. This book examines the organization, uniforms and history of the various Wehrmacht auxiliary forces of World War II.

On 6 April, the German 2nd and 12th Armies, Italian 2nd and 9th Armies, and the Hungarian 4th, 5th and Mobile Corps invaded Yugoslavia from Italy, Germany, Rumania, Bulgaria and Albania. Few of the Royal Yugoslav Army's 30 divisions actively resisted, and after 11 days the Yugoslav High Command surrendered. In Croatia, a puppet state was installed. Axis forces quickly occupied the principal towns and patrolled the main road and rail links, but in the villages, countryside and mountains a vicious and complex guerrilla war was brewing. This title takes a close look at the German, Italian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Slovenian units that fought for the Axis powers in Yugoslavia.

Recent history should remind us that it was events in the Balkans which sparked off World War I (1914-1918), with the assassination of the Austrian heir Prince Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, and the consequent invasion of Serbia by Austro-Hungarian armies on 2 August 1914. Nevertheless, the subsequent four-year war in that theatre is always overshadowed by the simultaneous campaigns on the Western Front. For the first time this book offers a concise account of these complex campaigns, the organisation, orders of battle, and the uniforms and insignia of the armies involved: Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, Serbian, Montenegrin, Albanian, British, French, Italian, Russian, Bulgarian, Greek and Rumanian.

The Royal Hungarian Army was Germany's largest ally on the Eastern Front, but information about the Hungarian Army in English is rare. Deployed in Ukraine at the beginning of the war, the Hungarian Army was involved in a number of brutal encounters with the Red Army, including stubborn resistance in Transylvania in the summer of 1944, and the brave defense of Budapest in the face of overwhelming odds. The Hungarian Army was a varied and colourful force, ranging from mountain troops and tank units to horse cavalry and specialist infantry. All of these are illustrated in full-colour artwork, with full details about the Hungarian Army's own, quite distinct uniforms and insignia as well as many of its own weapons and tanks. This is an essential starter resource for wargamers, modelers, re-enactors and military historians.

This would be a detailed analysis of the Soviet Army at the outbreak of World War II, including the Red Army's campaigns against Japan on the Manchurian plains as well as in Finland. It would also cover the Red Army's first operations during Operation Barbarossa when the Red Army was forced to defend Mother Russia against the German onslaught. This book would offer a breakdown of all the armed forces including the army, air force, paratroopers, navy and NKVD troops. In particular, it will cover the evolution of uniforms, equipment and insignia with the introduction of new regulations in 1935 and 1940.

In this second volume of a three-part series on the Soviet Armed Forces in World War II (1939-1945), author Nigel Thomas turns his attention to the mid-war period. Focusing on the uniforms and organization of Soviet troops during the campaigns of the Caucasus, Stalingrad and Kursk, this book offers a detailed breakdown of all the armed forces which conducted the valiant defensive campaigns, including the army, air force, paratroopers, navy and NKVD troops. It also covers equipment and insignia and the changes brought about by the new regulations of 1943. An invaluable resource for those curious about the war effort on the Eastern front.