War + Elite

In the late 1980s, with the Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty in effect, public attention turned to discussions of conventional weapons in Europe, particularly tanks. Though the importance of tanks had dimished since their heyday in the Second World War, on the modern battlefield they remained the dominant weapon.This text, enhanced by colour plates and photographs, examines the NATO and Warsaw Pact tank forces of that era, focusing on tank firepower and crew training, and speculates as to the possible outcome had a conventional land war been fought between them.

From 1940 to 1943 North Africa saw the first major desert campaign by modern mechanised armies. The British, Italians, German Afrika Korps and US Army all addressed and learned from the special problems - human, logistical, mechanical and tactical - of the desert environment, most significantly fighting in a terrain empty of resources and offering little chance of concealment. Paddy Griffith traces the fast-learned development in armour, artillery and infantry tactics in this exceptional arena and illustrates them with references to the major engagements in the North African theatre, which involved some of the greatest tacticians of World War II in one of the pivotal theatres.