Featured battle : Breitenfeld 1631

Part of The Thirty Years War

Date : 17 September 1631

King Gustavus ll headed the Swedish/Saxon army which outnumbered the Catholic League army under Count Tilly. However the Saxon contingent were raw inexperienced troops. Tilly chose the ground and arranged his force in a traditional way. Gustavus was an innovative commander who brought a new arrangement to the battlefield. The battle looked lost to the Swedes when Tilly's men broke the Saxons who fled the field. But the flexibility and all-arms set up enabled the Swedes to counter attack successfully, now against superior numbers, and to win a decisive victory.

Taranto and Naval Warfare in the Mediterranean 1940-1945

David Hobbs
This book’s main title is ‘Taranto’ but it is about so much more than that singular action. The whole range of Fleet Air Arm activity in the Mediterranean theatre, 1940-1945, is the real content and a full and fascinating story it is. There are many insights into little known activities especially those where shore based squadrons were supporting the RAF and the troops on the ground in the North African campaign. Readers can expect to have their eyes opened to the real value of the ‘antiquated flying string bag’ the Fairey Swordfish. Although superseded by fast single seater fighters there was always a niche which no other aircraft could fill and consequently they stayed in service for the whole period. An underlying message of the book is that during this period the battleship became obsolete to be replaced by the aircraft carrier. The author draws attention to the political difficulties in the Admiralty, the RAF and the aircraft supply chain which accounted for the necessity of eventually obtaining, by purchase or Lean Lease, American aircraft and American carriers.
Technical detail, personal stories and lots of photographs make this a must have book for readers with many different interests. A jolly good read which we highly recommend.

Seaforth Publishing, 2020