Adam Chapman - Böcker

From their inception during the Cold War through to operations in Afghanistan and beyond, Special Observers from 4/73 (Sphinx) Special Observation Post Battery, Royal Artillery and its antecedent units, have provided a unique and specialist capability to the British Army. The unit, and its capability, is discreet by its very nature and in line with its unit motto Lateo, which means to 'Remain Hidden'.In 1982, amidst the tension of the Cold War, the unit was established with a distinctive mission – to operate covertly behind enemy lines, awaiting the passage of Warsaw Pact units, before engaging follow-on forces. These elite soldiers, comprised of specially selected teams of six men, would take refuge in underground shelters, emerging to deploy to observation posts armed with the firepower of the British army.The tasks of this specialist unit, which is part of the Royal Artillery’s 1st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade, include directing artillery fire and strikes from attack aircraft and precision missiles and providing crucial battlefield intelligence on enemy positions, movements, strength and morale. The battery has also deployed as Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Patrols which operate far from the main force, sometimes deep behind enemy lines. Members of the battery are expected to be able to remain hidden for up to a week without the enemy being aware of their presence.The 1980s and 1990s saw numerous deployments to Northern Ireland and Balkans. As the world changed following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 so did the unit, finding itself deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan numerous times. Written by a former Special Observer and Infantry Officer troop commander with contributions from across the military, including UK Special Forces, Special Observers of all ranks, and British Army generals, this is the first time the world has been provided with a glimpse into this highly secret unit.

This book provides the first in-depth exploration of video games as history. Chapman puts forth five basic categories of analysis for understanding historical video games: simulation and epistemology, time, space, narrative, and affordance. Through these methods of analysis he explores what these games uniquely offer as a new form of history and how they produce representations of the past. By taking an inter-disciplinary and accessible approach the book provides a specific and firm first foundation upon which to build further examination of the potential of video games as a historical form.

This book provides the first in-depth exploration of video games as history. Chapman puts forth five basic categories of analysis for understanding historical video games: simulation and epistemology, time, space, narrative, and affordance. Through these methods of analysis he explores what these games uniquely offer as a new form of history and how they produce representations of the past. By taking an inter-disciplinary and accessible approach the book provides a specific and firm first foundation upon which to build further examination of the potential of video games as a historical form.

Examines the role of Welsh soldiers in English armies, from the conquests under Edward I through to the Battle of Agincourt.Not only the leaders but the entire nation are trained in war. Sound the trumpet for battle and the peasant will rush from his plough to pick up his weapons as quickly as the courtier from the court. So wrote Gerald of Wales atthe end of the twelfth century; and war continued to define the experiences of Welshmen in the succeeding years.This book explores the role of the Welsh in England's armies and in England's wars between Edward I's conquest of Wales in the 1280s, through the wars in Scotland and France and the revolt led by Owain Glyndwr, concluding with Henry V's conquest of Normandy following his victory at Agincourt in 1415. It examines the structure and composition of armies and the social networks and hierarchies which underpinned them: what sort of Welshmen became soldiers? How was Welsh society organised for war? What impact did wider political considerations have upon Welshmen in England's armies? These questions are answered using both well-known sources, such as the financial records of the English crown, and others less familiar, including the records of local administration and the large surviving corpus ofWelsh-language poetry.Adam Chapman is Editor and Training Coordinator with the Victoria County History of the Counties of England at the Institute of Historical Research, London.