History > War & Military History

The book contains full colour, black and white photos and illustrations on every page, three beautiful pull out maps are also included. Its expert contributors include New Zealander Dr Christopher Pugsley, author of "Gallipoli The New Zealand Story". The film Gallipoli is unusual in its perpective, looking at the battle from the point of view of the ordinary soldiers on both sides. It's told through the diaries of three New Zealand, three Australian, two British and two Turkish soldiers. Among the film's backers is the New Zea... read more

In an intensely personal account, Barry heard draws on his own experiences as a young conscript, along with those of his comrades, to look back at life before, during, and after the Vietnam War. First published 2005.

In the second half of the 19th century, European-led columns began to fan out across the African continent from their coastal footholds, smashing whatever forces could be brought against them, no matter how brave or determined the latter were. The process began at different dates in different parts of the continent, but much of the main activity was concentrated into the two decades between 1881 and 1902, subsequently but accurately nicknamed the 'Scramble for Africa'. By 1914 the Europeans had overrun the greater part of the conti... read more

This is a companion volume to our first book 'New Zealand Army Personal Equipment, 1910 -1945. In this book we have covered the uniforms and clothing that were worn by New Zealand soldiers in New Zealand and overseas between 1910 and 1945. Also included are some civilian clothing and auxiliary uniforms that were worn when undertaking work in connection with the war effort. The items that have been photographed or described include the vast majority of uniforms and clothing types worn by New Zealanders, however there are still many... read more

The New Zealand Division earned a high reputation as an Allied strike formation on the Western Front in 1916-1918. It fought at First Somme, and the Battles of Messines, Broodseinde, and First Passchendaele. It responded effectively in plugging a gap in the British line at Second Somme during the sudden German advance in March 1918. It held its new line, and then was in the vanguard of the Advance to Victory through the Hindenburg Line, before its celebrated Relief of Le Quesnoy, at wars end. It pioneered the fielding by the New Ze... read more

How We Saw The War will retell to a new generation of New Zealanders how their mothers and grandmothers learned where their loved ones were and what they were doing during World War II. It will republish newspaper stories from the time which reported on the activities of New Zealand soldiers in the Middle East and the Pacific, North Africa and Italy; in the air and at sea. From Michael Joseph Savage's "Where Britain goes, we go" declaration of war in 1939 until the Japanese surrender in 1945, How We Saw The War will bring back the ... read more

With each passing year the horrors of the first world war fade further from collective memory, but the popularity of annual ANZAC Day ceremonies is as strong as ever. This, along with the dignified respect with which the body of the Unknown Soldier was returned in 2004 to New Zealand, shows that people wish to remember those New Zealanders and Australians who went off to fight and - in many cases - did not return. This compact and thoughtful gift book is a collection of evocative photographs of men and women who served. Riding came... read more

This is a book that clearly and conscisely sets out New Zealand's involvement from the first declaration of war until the final exacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Detailed within are the battles that have long haunted New Zealand military history such as the Daisy Patch, Hill 60 and, of course, Chunuk Bair. Moving and detailed, this record of our part in the Gallipoli campaign has a surprising wealth of photography to bring history to life. Stowers was inspired by a Gallipoli veteran neighbour he knew when a teenager and his re... read more

They shall not grow old...In 1914, despite being forbidden, many a Kiwi soldier's kitbag included a portable camera, known as 'The Soldiers' Kodak'. In a major research project, Glyn Harper and the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum have combined official war photographs with more informal images to produce a moving visual history. While primarily drawn from the Museum's collection, many photographs from private sources have been included. From more than 25,000 photographs, just over 800 have been selected - most of which have... read more

This significant volume will see the completion of over ten years' writing and research by esteemed military historian Glyn Harper. The book will include the revision and reissuing of his two earlier detailed histories of the New Zealand Division's major Western Front battles of World War One: Massacre at Passchendaele (2000) Spring Offensive (2003) combined with an unpublished account of the third major battle of the Somme, at Bapaume, during which several VCs were awarded to New Zealand troops. Dark Journey presents the first co... read more

While the fighter aces in their Hurricanes and Spitfires have had their WW2 exploits well celebrated, most of us know much less about the contribution made by thousands of New Zealanders who fought and died in what proved to be one of England’s most potent weapons - Bomber Command. In this detailed history, full of facts, figures, names, anecdotes and both humorous and harrowing examples, Night After Night is a deeply moving account provided by survivors, family members, colleagues and fellow serviceman. "Lambert writes wel... read more

Drawn from interviews with the men who were there in the darkest days of a bloody and terrible conflict, Hell or High Water includes many stirring accounts of war at sea. During WWII thousands of New Zealanders served in New Zealand, British and other Allied merchant marines. Many braved the deadly German U-Boat threat during the Battle of the Atlantic

The New Zealand Division landed in Italy in October 1943 and entered the line at the Sangro River on 14 November. They fought up the east side of Italy, becoming bogged down at Orsogna for two months, from where they were withdrawn in January 1944. They then swapped coasts. It was unpleasant fighting and a great contrast to the desert war. Here it was cold and wet and it snowed. But there were also compensations - many of the men got on well with the Italian people, who mostly greeted them with great enthusiasm. This book tells of ... read more

Following on from the great success of Escape: Kiwi POWs on the run in World War 2, this is another accessible and fascinating account of New Zealanders' extraordinary exploits during World War 2. Torpedo is an anthology of fascinating first-person stories about New Zealand's naval and convoy work in World War 2, most of them from unpublished manuscripts, including the Navy Museum archive. Each is a ripping good yarn and war historian Matthew Wright puts each story into context with historical background. It includes stories about ... read more

The Vietnam War provoked a major crisis in New Zealand attitudes to foreign policy, breaking for the first time the almost universal consensus about how the country should handle political and military issues beyond its shores. The despatch of troops to assist the US in Vietnam divided the country, enraged a generation and forced the government to publicly defend its policy. This is the first detailed study of these events and is the fruit of many years of research in government archives, newspapers, records of the protest movement... read more

The first of a family of singel-engined aircraft that would play an important part in the RAF's and Fleet Air Arm's contributions to World War II, the Typhoon was designed as a high-speed interceptor fighter and replacement for its forebear, the Hurricane. The Tempest was a development of the Typhoon. It was a more than capable ground-attack aircraft and defence fighter at medium altitudes. The final development of the line was the small and even faster Sea Fury, which had evolved from the Fury originally destined for the RAF. This... read more

Initially equipped with a motley collection of antiquated biplanes, the Finnish Air Force was thrust into combat by the invading Red Army in late 1939. Given little hope against the "communist hordes", Finnish pilots confounded skeptics by decimating attacking Soviet fighters and bombers. The scenario was repeated in June 1941 when Finnish-flown Buffalos, Fiat G.50s, and Curtiss Hawks again proved superior to the more abundant Soviet forces.

In this alternate history the Germans actual ly launch the invasion that, in reality, was never more than a plan. Landing between Dover and Hythe, German troops push inland supported by the Luftwaffe and strike out towards London. '

On 13 April 1919, General Reginald Dyer marched a squad of Indian soldiers into the Jallianwala Bagh, a large enclosed public space in the holy city of Amritsar, and opened fire without warning on a crowd gathered to hear political speeches, leaving over 200 dead. To some Dyer was the saviour of India, responding decisively to threatened insurrection, but to many in India, including Gandhi and Nehru, his action proved the moral bankruptcy of the British Empire. The bitter debate that followed the shootings, the worst atrocity perpe... read more

In 1939, Hitler went to war not just with Great Britain; he also went to war with the whole of the British Empire, the greatest empire that there had ever been. Because in the years since 1945 that empire has disappeared, the crucial fact that the British Empire fought together as a whole during the war has been forgotten. All the parts of the empire joined the struggle and were involved in it from the beginning, undergoing huge changes and sometimes suffering great losses as a result. The war in the desert, the defence of Malta an... read more