Militärteknik

WITH A NEW AFTERWORDThe INSTANT New York Times bestseller Instant Los Angeles Times bestsellerFinalist, Dayton Literary Peace PrizeOne of NPR's Books We LoveOne of Newsweek Staffers' Favorite Books of the YearShortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize“In Nuclear War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen gives us a vivid picture of what could happen if our nuclear guardians fail….Terrifying.”—The Wall Street JournalThere is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war. And one of the triggers for that war would be a nuclear missile inbound toward the United States.Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have.Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War: A Scenario examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency.

Minuteman: A Technical History of the Missile That Defined American Nuclear Warfare is a detailed history of the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile program, which has served as a powerful component of US nuclear strategies for over half a century.  David K. Stumpf examines breakthroughs in solid propellant, lightweight inertial guidance systems and lightweight reentry vehicle development, the construction of over a thousand launch and launch control facilities, and key flight test and operational flight programs, and places the Minuteman program in context with world events.

The conduct of combat operations in open order during the 18th and 19th centuries required an improved firearm with more accuracy than the standard-issue smoothbore infantry musket.Consequently, the appearance of a new type of regular light infantry soldier and an innovative military firearm, the rifle, marked a new age in the history of warfare. During the 18th century both Austria and Prussia fielded light troops armed with rifled firearms, while conflicts in North America involved the deadly long rifle and the innovative Ferguson breech-loader. Rifle-armed specialists also fought for several nations during the Napoleonic Wars. However, it was the decades after 1815 that saw the appearance of successful rifled percussion firearms, paving the way for the widespread issue of rifled weapons. This development was accelerated by the Prussian adoption of the Dreyse ‘needle gun’ in 1848 and in 1849, the French Minié rifle was the first successful conical ball rifle concept to be issued to regular troops in large numbers.Illustrated throughout with stunning full-colour artwork, this study charts the development, combat use, influence and legacy of rifled firearms in a host of conflicts, from the War of the Austrian Succession of 1740–48 to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48.

Explore the scientific crescendo of the Manhattan Project through newly contextualized and never-before-seen photographs from Los Alamos National Laboratory’s legacy collections—some just declassified. Twenty-one days before the world learned of the atomic bomb through its wartime use against Japan, a team of scientists led by J. Robert Oppenheimer detonated the first nuclear device on a remote stretch of New Mexico desert, in an operation codenamed Trinity. Both a military proof test and an elaborate, well-documented scientific experiment, the Trinity shot on July 16, 1945, brought under the control of humankind a new fire: the energy of the atom. In this expertly curated journey through the beginning of the atomic age, hundreds of carefully restored photographs, still frames, and once-secret documents bring new and vivid focus to a watershed moment in science and history. Written for all to understand, Trinity weaves steadily through subplots and surprises set against the evolving, looming backdrop of a world at war. It shadows the humans and hardware at work in the rugged landscape of the test operation; dissects a fiery mushroom cloud unfurling frame by frame, frozen in time; and follows soldiers, scientists, and two atomic bombs across the Pacific Ocean to Tinian Island, onto the strike planes Enola Gay and Bockscar, and to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two Japanese cities devastated on August 6 and 9, 1945. Inviting readers into the clandestine spaces where a new era began—behind the cameras, the bunker doors, the gates and guard posts—Trinity strives, grieves, celebrates, and ponders. It artfully captures that extraordinary summer when scientists invented urgently in the waning months of the “before”—and the tension between violence and progress, hope and fear, that persists into the after.

Through World War II the US Army worked on projects for new heavy tanks, which are charted in this illustrated study of the M6 and the never-built T14, T28, and Pershing-derived designs.In this book, world-renowned armour expert Steven J. Zaloga examines the US Army's efforts to field a heavy tank in World War II. The first design was the M6, which never saw combat use despite being type classified. The heavy T14 assault tank, earmarked for the British under Lend-Lease, was also developed, while the M4A3E2 assault tank went into production as a stopgap for the 1944 campaign in France. The most outrageous US tank project of the war was the T28/T95 superheavy tank, which was so large that it required four sets of suspension bogies instead of the usual two. The M26 Pershing medium tank program also spawned a number of heavy tank projects, such as the T29, T30 and T34, which are also examined. Although production of these was envisioned in 1945–46, the end of the war put an end to any possibility of serial manufacture. Nevertheless, these tanks were heavily influenced by World War II lessons and their development and technical features are examined. Illustrated with rarely seen archive photos and meticulously illustrated new profiles of the key designs, this book traces the US Army’s efforts to develop heavy tanks comparable to the German Tigers, and the reasons why such monstrous machines were never required.

Governing Military Sacrifice examines the deterioration of the relationship between citizen-soldiering and military sacrifice. As a key historical archetype, the citizen-soldier has come to represent the highest expression of devotion for the nation in cultural imaginings of war. However, this book asks if bloodshed today even requires this offering of the self. This work explores the social, ethical, and political implications of the desire to enact violence in a post-sacrificial world.Following the Vietnam War, casualty-aversion and a political intolerance for wartime deaths and injuries turned military sacrifice from a simple assumption to an increasingly contested idea. As a result, military sacrifice became governed. Sociologist and international relations scholar Bianca Baggiarini argues that military privatization and the usage of drones in warfare emerged as related or parallel measures to exercise control over martyrdom. Drawing on Foucauldian discourse analysis and interview data with drone pilots, soldiers, veterans, and defence professionals, the book traces the decay of the sacrificial cults and idioms surrounding the citizen-soldier. When military sacrifice is no longer an assumed feature of war, it radically transforms the social and political meaning of bodies-in-war. Altering how we understand and witness war, technological transformations create an “anti-social” version of conflict which constrains our ability to critique and prevent its outbreak. Governing Military Sacrifice thus inquires whether the future of war may be found in a return to the past.

This highly illustrated title details the history of the Panzer III throughout World War II, from its early development in the pre-war years, through its pivotal role in the Blitzkrieg campaigns in Poland and Western Europe, to its eventual obsolescence on the Eastern Front.The Panzer III was the mainstay of the German armoured forces in the early years of World War II and spearheaded the victories in Poland, Western Europe and the Balkans. Designed and developed in the mid-1930s, it was originally equipped with a 3.7cm gun and with 30mm-thick armour.Early combat in Poland and France saw the need for this to be upgraded, and later models were armed with a 5cm KwK L/42 gun and had the frontal armour reinforced to 60mm by adding extra plating. This later version proved to be particularly effective during the campaigns in the Balkans and against British armour in the North African desert campaign.However, in the first months of Operation Barbarossa – the German invasion of the Soviet Union – it became obvious to battlefield commanders that the Panzer III had become obsolete as a main battle tank and it began to be replaced by the Panzer IV as the main front-line battle tank.The Panzer III was relegated to a secondary role, but its chassis proved the basis for the Sturmgeschutz III, which became the most widespread German armoured vehicle of World War II.

“This is a brilliant and hardheaded book. It will frighten those who prefer not to dwell on the unthinkable and infuriate those who have taken refuge in stereotypes and moral attitudinizing.”—Gordon A. Craig, New York Times Book Review  “A grim but carefully reasoned and coldly analytical book. . . . One of the most frightening previews which this reviewer has ever seen of the roads that lie just ahead in warfare.”—Los Angeles Times  Originally published in 1966, this landmark book explores the ways in which military capabilities—real or imagined—are used, skillfully or clumsily, as bargaining power. Anne-Marie Slaughter’s new introduction to the work shows how Schelling’s framework—conceived of in a time of superpowers and mutually assured destruction—still applies to our multipolar world, where wars are fought as much online as on the ground.  The Henry L. Stimson Lectures Series

Logistics is an essential aspect of warfare and this is an original and much-needed contribution. All commanders know that an army (or navy) cannot operate without supplies yet most aspects of war studies emphasise strategy, tactics, weaponry and command. This book fills a gap in war studies with logistics as a huge subject at the centre of all conflict, globally and historically. The focus is on key conflicts, developments and concepts, illustrating the vital role of logistics with technologies changing but underlying issues remaining constant. Here is a world history of logistics - a veritable compendium - but within a detailed and comprehensive but concise text. Factors affecting logistics include, for example, climate, geography, food supplies, welfare of troops, payment, transport, communications, terrain and distance, but also government policy, stability and financial conditions. All are considered, including theoretical and practical factors of supply, from classical, ancient, early and medieval times, to modern eras of industrial warfare, especially with oil and steam, and scientific and technical advances - even cyber warfare and 'smart' weapons.

An Epic Journey into the Legend and Legacy of Japan's SamuraiA History of the Samurai tells the complete story of Japan's legendary warrior class from beginning to end—an epic tale of intrigue, bloodshed, and bravery that offers deep insight into a pivotal era of Japanese history and culture. With renewed global fascination fueled by popular shows like SHOGUN and other feudal Japan dramas, this book offers timely insight into the real warriors behind the legend.It explores in detail the core Samurai philosophy of Bushido—"the way of the warrior"—a complex code of conduct embracing ideals of honor and loyalty that continue to influence Japanese life today.Historian Jonathan Lopez-Vera offers a compelling look at these enigmatic warriors, including:The lives of famous Samurai—Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's greatest swordsman; Tomoe Gozen, the legendary woman Samurai; Tokugawa Ieyasu, the last Shogun; and many moreThe tragic tale of the 47 Ronin, who chose honor over their own lives and were forced to commit ritual suicide after avenging their fallen masterThe philosophy of Bushido, the code of conduct embodying honor and loyalty that governed the Samurai way of lifeThe decline of the Samurai and their transformation from fierce, battle-hardened warriors to highly educated philosopher-poetsIllustrated with 125 archival prints and photographs, this book brilliantly showcases the nobility and grandeur of the Samurai. Readers will be fully immersed in the world of these legendary warriors as Jonathan Lopez-Vera traces their rise and fall throughout Japanese history.

**Endorsements:�**'Fascinating and meticulously researched.' The Spectator'The connection between weapons and industrial design is strong at Porsche. This is the subject of an engrossing new book, Professor Porsche's Wars.' Stephen Bayley, Octane'Ludvigsen approaches the legend from a new and surprisingly rich angle � the Professor's contributions to military ordnance, the design and production of which occupied him continuously throughout his long career. He produces a compelling tale of a prolifically talented engineer dedicated to innovation and perfection stubbornly battling against the often seemingly impossible constraints imposed upon him.' The Automobile'Crammed with information, original photographs, illustrations and drawings, we reckon it's an essential addition to any military vehicle enthusiast's reference library.' Classic Military VehicleRegarded as one of the great automotive engineers of the twentieth century, Ferdinand Porsche is well remembered today for his remarkable automotive designs including the Volkswagen Beetle and Auto Union Grand Prix cars. Yet there is another side to his extraordinary career, for he was an equally inventive designer of military vehicles and machinery. In this field too he excelled. Indeed the sheer versatility of his contribution is astonishing. Karl Ludvigsen's study is the definitive guide.Karl Ludvigsen tells the complete story, detailing Porsche's relations with the Third Reich and the stream of advanced designs for which he was responsible. Among them were the Kubelwagen, the Schwimmwagen, the Type 100 Leopard tank, the controversial Ferdinand tank destroyer and the colossal Type 205 'Maus' tank. He also describes Porsche's creative work on aero engines, tank engines and even his company's manufacture of the V-1 flying bomb, for which he designed a turbojet engine.

This is the remarkable story of an airplane that became a legend--with a sleek silhouette and bent wings, it doubled as a day and night fighter, could fly off carriers or from land, and served both as a dive bomber and reconnaissance plane. Filled with facts and figures, this fast-paced history begins with the nerve-wracking test flights of the 1940s and concludes with the F4Us that were active thirty-eight years later. Placed skillfully in between are the stories that gave birth to the legend: the exploits of the aces, including the Medal of Honor recipient who shot down twenty-five enemy planes, and the details of the combat missions of Charles A. Lindbergh. During thirty months of combat in World War II with the U.S. Navy and Marines, the Corsair shot down more than two thousand Japanese planes. In Korea the U-bird, as it was called, was credited with ten aerial victories. A trip down memory lane for anyone who has followed the career of this Cadillac of the props, this new paperback edition of a book first published in hardcover in 1979 offers fine historical aviation reading that presents a riveting picture of the men and machine that helped win two wars.

Drawing on his legendary firearms knowledge and combat experience, U.S. Navy SEAL and #1 bestselling author of American Sniper Chris Kyle dramatically chronicles the story of America-from the Revolution to the present-through the lens of ten iconic guns and the remarkable heroes who used them to shape history: the American long rifle, Spencer repeater, Colt .45 revolver, Winchester 1873 rifle, Springfield M1903 rifle, M1911 pistol, Thompson submachine gun, M1 Garand, .38 Special police revolver, and the M16 rifle platform Kyle himself used. American Gun is a sweeping epic of bravery, adventure, invention, and sacrifice. Featuring a foreword and afterword by Taya Kyle and illustrated with more than 100 photographs, this new paperback edition features a bonus chapter, "The Eleventh Gun," on shotguns, derringers, and the Browning M2 machine gun.