The Battle of Britain

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1940 Britain was an island under siege. The march of the Nazi war machine had been unrelenting: France and Belgium had quickly fallen and now the British Empire and the Commonwealth stood alone to counter the grave threat. However, their fate would not be decided by armies of millions but by a small band of fighter pilots. It was on their shoulders that Britains best chance of survival rested. Above the villages and cities, playing fields and market towns, the skies of southern England were the scene of countless dogfights as the fledgling Fighter Command duelled daily against the might of the Luftwaffe. The Battle of Britain offers an in-depth assessment of the situation leading up to the summer of 1940, the strategies employed by the adversaries and the brutal aerial battle itself. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, contemporary art and posters, and accompanied by numerous first-hand accounts, this is a volume that captures the reality of a defining chapter in British history.

Reviews

"Photos, wartime posters and drawings, and even a pilot's handwritten diary -- mostly culled from the Imperial War Museum's vast archives -- makes this one of the most attractive illustrated treatments to appear. The brief, authoritative text is a match for the graphics." --Aviation History (November 2010)

"Moore does a remarkable job of telling the story of not just the Battle itself -- understandably concentrating on the most intense days -- but also the events leading up to it ... Not only that, but she writes with style and some verve." --Brett Holman, www.airminded.org

"Offer[s] a lavish display packed with modern art, photos, propaganda posters, and first-hand accounts. Any collection strong in British military history must have this!" --The Midwest Book Review

"Appropriately released in time for the 70th anniversary of the onslaught, the book provides not only the history of the BoB, but also an analysis of events from both sides of the conflict. In here you'll find the aircraft, the airmen, the commanders, and other personalities with the RAF and the Luftwaffe. It is a superbly written book that brings everything to life. It is a book that I can easily recommend to you as one that you'll be going to over and over again." --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness

"...this solid offering provides background and perspective (and pictures) from both sides of the battle, all laced with apposite first-person memories." --Gene Santoro, World War II Magazine (May/June 2011)

Author Bio

Kate Moore studied Modern History at the University of Cape Town and completed a Masters in the same subject at Oxford University, where her final thesis was on the Battle of Britain. She has an interest in all periods of history but her first love will always be the key events of 1940. Based in the Osprey Head Office, Kate is the Publisher for the General Military list. PHOTO CREDIT FOR IMPRINT: Imperial War Museum Collections Many of the photos in this book come from the Imperial War Museum's huge collections which cover all aspects of conflict involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the start of the twentieth century. These rich resources are available online to search, browse and buy at www.iwmcollections.org.uk. In addition to Collections Online, you can visit the Visitor Rooms where you can explore over 8 million photographs, thousands of hours of moving images, the largest sound archive of its kind in the world, thousands of diaries and letters written by people in wartime, and a huge reference library. To make an appointment, call (020) 7416 5320, or e-mail mail@iwm.org.uk. Imperial War Museum www.iwm.org.uk