books
52 SCALE MILITARY MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
Pen and Sword
Gilbert and Ellice Islands – Pacific War
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Author: Jim Moran
ISBN: 9781526731195
Format: Softback
Pr i ce: £15.9 9
This classic Images of War
book covers the dramatic
events that befell both
the Gilbert and Ellice
Paciic island groups
using a wealth of well-
captioned photos and
informed text. Soon after the attack on Pearl
Harbor in December 1941, the Gilbert Islands
were occupied by the Japanese who built a
seaplane base at Butaritari. In August 1942
the Makin Atoll was attacked by the USMC
2nd Raider Battalion (Carlson’s Raiders). As a
result, the base was reinforced and a second
built at Apamana. Betio Island on the Tarawa
Atoll became the main Japanese strong
point. Operation ‘Galvanic’, the US assault on
Butaritari, Apamama and Betio, was launched
in November 1943 by the 2nd Marine Division
and the 27th Infantry Division US Army. While
short in duration, the Betio battle has the
dubious distinction of being the costliest
in US Marine Corps history. Thanks to the
author’s in-depth knowledge and access
to superb contemporary images, this book
will be of particular interest and value to
historians and laymen.7th SS Mountain Division Prinz Eugen at War
1941-1945
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Author: Ian Baxter
ISBN: 9781526721426
Format: Softback
Price: £14.99
Drawing on a superb
collection of rare
and unpublished
photographs the The 7th
SS Volunteer Mountain
Division Prinz Eugen
1941 - 1945 is the 7th
book in the Wafen-SS
Images of War Series
written by Ian Baxter. The book tells the story
of the 7th SS Mountain Division was formed
in 1941 from the Volksdeutsche (ethnic
German) volunteers and conscripts from the
Banat, Independent State of Croatia, Hungary
and Romania. It fought a brutal counter
insurgency campaign against communist-
led Yugoslav Partisan resistance forces in
the occupied Serbia and Montenegro. It was
given the title Prinz Eugen after Prince Eugene
of Savoy, an outstanding military leader of the
Habsburg Empire who liberated the Banat
and Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire in
the Austro Turkish War. It was initially named
the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen (SS-
Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen).(^) http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Osprey
The Royal Dragoon Guards
Publisher: Osprey
Author: Peter McFarlane
ISBN: 9781472825599
Format: Softback
Price: £13.99
The Royal Dragoon
Guards have a long and
distinguished history
dating from 1685. Originally
raised as regiments of
horse and dragoons, they
were subsequently designated as the 4th,
5th and 7th Dragoon Guards and the 6th
(Inniskilling) Dragoons. They fought in all
of Britain’s major wars from the late 17th
century onwards, charging at Blenheim
with Marlborough’s cavalry, at Waterloo
with the Union Brigade, and at Balaklava
with the Heavy Brigade. In the 19th century,
they also saw service in India and Africa.
This regimental history of the Dragoons
tells their story as it played out across the
centuries, exploring their role in both major
and minor conlicts
of the last 300 years.
The title examines
the development of
the regiment up to
the present day and
highlights key igures
across its history. The text
is supported throughout
with photographs and
illustrations.
T-34 v StuG III
Publisher: Osprey
Author: Steven J Zaloga
ISBN: 9781472822351
Format: Softback
Price: £13.99
In the summer of 1944,
the Red Army staged
a massive armoured
assault up the Karelian
Isthmus with the
intent of eliminating
any remaining German and Finnish forces
facing the Leningrad region. Most of the
Soviet units sent into Finland were new to
the region, moving mainly from the ighting
in the Leningrad area. As a result, some
had the latest types of Soviet equipment
including the new T-34-85 tank, ielded
alongside the older T-34-76. Germany
refused to sell the Finns new tanks without
a reinforced military alliance, but in 1943
began selling them a few dozen StuG III
assault guns. This made the StuG
III battalion the most modern and
powerful element of the Finnish
armoured division, and it saw very
extensive combat in the June-July
summer battles. Featuring specially
commissioned artwork and an array
of archive photographs, this is the
absorbing story of the parts played
by Soviet and Finnish armour in the
epic battles in Finland during June
and July 1944.
http://www.ospreypublishing.com
Osprey
Publisher: Osprey
Author: David Fletcher
ISBN: 9781472837349
Format: Softback
Price: £11.99
The title covers all seven
Marks of Churchill gun
tank with variations and
the curious self-propelled
gun of 1941/42, but not the
so-called ‘Funnies’ or the
armoured recovery vehicle
variants. It will begin with
the prototype tank A20, which has not
been covered in any detail before, then go
on to look at all seven Marks of Churchill,
in particular their different guns. This
book will also look at the tank’s service in
Russia and later with the Irish, Jordanian
and Australian Armies. It will also feature
on the disastrous Dieppe raid of August
1942, ending with a brief look at the Black
Prince or super Churchill which was only
developed up to the prototype stage at
the end of World War II. The
Churchill is an interesting
tank, quite different from
any other British tank of
World War II, built outside
the normal process of British
tanks and the Department
of Tank Design. It was built
under the watchful eye of the
Prime Minister, after whom
it was named, by a firm with
no previous experience of
tank production. Despite being condemned
as unsuitable and more than once being
scheduled to be replaced by a better design
this never actually happened. It remained in
production and ultimately vindicated itself
since, although it was slow and noisy it was
found to have superior climbing ability and
thicker frontal armour than the vaunted
German Tiger.
http://www.ospreypublishing.com
The Churchill Infantry Tank
on the side