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The Second World War in Photographs 1942 - On The Offensive

1942 was the turning point of the war. In the words of Winston Churchill, it was ‘not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’

What's inside 'The Second World War in Photographs 1942 - On The Offensive

In the Pacific the Japanese had been soundly defeated at the Battle of Midway, with the loss of four valuable and irreplaceable aircraft carriers, while the Allied landings in North Africa had been a complete success, and the rout of the German and Italian soldiers in the desert war had begun in earnest.

Fortress Britain saw the infamous Baedeker raids on English towns and cities, but also the build-up of American troops and material in preparation for the invasion of mainland Europe, of which August’s costly raid on Dieppe was a precursor.

Despite some setbacks, the war had changed and the Allies were on the attack on all fronts. In Russia, the German 6th Army spent the New Year surrounded in Stalingrad, the Germans and Italians being squeezed in North Africa, and the Japanese were suffering defeat after defeat.

John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon tell the story of 1942 at war using many rare and often unpublished images, showing the rapidly changing nature of the conflict, as well as its impact on the everyday person. It is part of a year-by-year series documenting the Second World War from 1939 to 1945.

The Second World War in Photographs 1939
1940 - Britain Stands Alone
1941 - A Global Conflict
1943 - The Turning Point
1944 - Liberation And Vengeance
1945 - A Brave New World

'The Second World War in Photographs 1942 - On The Offensive' in detail

Author: John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2015
ISBN: 9781445622118
Format: Softback, 176 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection

The Second World War in Photographs 1943 - The Turning Point

1943 saw the Allies on the offensive, with victories in North Africa followed by the invasion of Sicily and landings in Italy establishing a foothold on mainland Europe, while on the Eastern Front the Red Army was making gains, and in the Pacific the Japanese-held islands were falling.

What's inside 'The Second World War in Photographs 1943 - The Turning Point'

The change in the Allies’ fortunes had begun the previous year and now they were building on those successes, paving the way for the major return to Europe with D-Day planned for 1944.

The 8th Army’s successes in the Tunisian campaign pushed the German Afrika Korps out of North Africa. This was followed by the invasion of Sicily in May and landings on the toe of Italy in September, resulting in the ousting of Benito Mussolini. Other Allied successes came in the Pacific with the taking of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, together with British and Chinese advances in Burma, putting the Japanese onto the defensive.

The conflict in Russia saw the key tank battle at Kursk and the subsequent retaking of some German-held territory. Other events included the Dambuster raids, an attack on the Ploesti oil refineries and the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.

John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon tell the story of 1943 at war using many rare and often unpublished images, showing the rapidly changing nature of the conflict, as well as its impact on the everyday person. It is part of a year-by-year series documenting the Second World War from 1939 to 1945.

The Second World War in Photographs 1939
1940 - Britain Stands Alone
1941 - A Global Conflict
1942 - On The Offensive
1944 - Liberation And Vengeance
1945 - A Brave New World

'The Second World War in Photographs 1943 - The Turning Point' in detail

Author: John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2015
ISBN: 9781445622132
Format: Softback, 176 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection

The Second World War in Photographs 1944 - Liberation And Vengeance

1944 saw the largest seaborne invasion ever staged in Operation Overlord. The Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, opened the way for the thrust into the occupied countries of northern Europe, in particular France, with the Allies liberating Paris in August.

What's inside 'The Second World War in Photographs 1944 - Liberation And Vengeance'

Other triumphs in the sixth year of the war included the Red Army regaining Leningrad on the Eastern Front, defeats for the Japanese in the Battle of the Philippine Sea as well as the British advances in Burma, and there were the American landings in Anzio, the taking of Rome, and further landings in Greece.

Victory was almost within sight, but it couldn’t be taken for granted as the war was entering a new phase and the Nazi war machine still had a sting in its tail.

Infuriated by Allied gains, Hitler unleashed the long-promised Vengeance weapons, in particular the V1 flying bomb and the V2 ballistic missile, in the belief that they would turn the tide of the war in Germany’s favour. There was also the question of whether Nazi scientists were developing an atomic bomb.

John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon tell the story of 1944 at war using many rare and often unpublished images, showing the rapidly changing nature of the conflict.

The Second World War in Photographs 1939
1940 - Britain Stands Alone
1941 - A Global Conflict
1942 - On The Offensive
1943 - The Turning Point
1945 - A Brave New World

'The Second World War in Photographs 1944 - Liberation And Vengeance' in detail

Author: John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2015
ISBN: 9781445622149
Format: Softback, 176 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection

The Second World War in Photographs 1945 - A Brave New World

1945 was the meeting point of two eras. It marked the end of the Second World War, a conflict ushered in by the lightning strikes of the Blitzkrieg and characterised by the brutalities inflicted by the Nazi regime. It concluded with the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – events that shaped the course of post-war history.

What's inside 'The Second World War in Photographs 1945 - A Brave New World'

After six long years of war, the Allies’ inexorable push into the heart of Germany brought the conflict in Europe to an end in the spring, but not without incident. The fire-bombing of Dresden in February destroyed a city and killed an estimated 130,000, and the final days of Hitler’s Reich saw bitter battles in the streets of Berlin.

It was only once the fighting was over that the world became aware of the horrors of the concentration camps and the systematic attempt by the Nazis to wipe out an entire section of the human race.

In the Pacific the fighting continued into the summer until the Allies, faced with a prolonged campaign to take each and every island stronghold, dropped the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing the war to a sudden end in August 1945. Yet even before the dust had settled, the victorious nations were carving up the conquered territories to create a new world order in which the Cold War era saw former Allies turned into enemies.

John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon tell the story of 1945 at war using many rare and often unpublished images, showing the conclusion of the conflict and the dawn of the Cold War.

The Second World War in Photographs 1939
1940 - Britain Stands Alone
1941 - A Global Conflict
1942 - On The Offensive
1943 - The Turning Point
1944 - Liberation And Vengeance

'The Second World War in Photographs 1945 - A Brave New World' in detail

Author: John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2015
ISBN: 9781445622156
Format: Softback, 176 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection

Thomas Telford Through Time

Before the emergence of the steam railway rocketed the Victorian engineers Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Robert Stephenson into the limelight, there was a ‘Colossus’ who already dominated the engineering scene and had laid the foundations for what was to follow.

What's inside 'Thomas Telford Through Time'

Thomas Telford built a series of ambitious road and canal projects, many notable bridges including his ground-breaking suspension bridge over the Menai Straits, plus many notable harbour works and buildings.

Contrasting old and new images, John Christopher examines Telford’s principal works to highlight his diverse, but often overshadowed, achievements. These include not only the Menai bridge, of course, but also his other masonry and iron bridges, as well as the Ellesmere Canal with its aqueducts at Pontcysyllte and Chirk, the Caledonian Canal slicing through Scotland’s Great Glen, and the A5 road running between London and Holyhead.

'Thomas Telford Through Time' in detail

Author: John Christopher (signed)
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2016
ISBN: 9781445657813
Format: Softback, 96 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection

Victoria Station Through Time - Signed copy

This is the second volume in the Through Time series telling the story of London's famous railway termini. Every year 115 million people pass through Victoria, making it London's second busiest station after Waterloo.

What's inside 'Victoria Station Through Time'

Victoria Station is not one station, but was actually in two parts; one built for the London, Brighton & South Coast railway, the other for the London, Chatham & Dover Railway, with the first of these halves opening in October 1860, and the other following in August 1862.

As such, its architecture and design has always been a mating of two distinctive styles, each with its own booking office, stationmaster, platform numbering and timetable. The original LBSCR station was plain, with a simple iron girder roof, while the LCDR station had a wide canopy roof. Various rebuildings see us with the station of today.

The amalgamation of various lines operating into the South East and Southern England into the Southern Railway, saw the stations finally being joined as one. Victoria has been the gateway to the continent, with boat trains running to various ports in the South Coast and is also a major underground station on the Victoria, District and Circle Lines.

This volume is part of the fully-illustrated Through Time series on London's major railway termini. Others include Waterloo Station, St Pancras, Euston, King’s Cross and Paddington.

'Victoria Station Through Time' in detail

Author: John Christopher (signed)
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2011
ISBN: 9781445602493
Format: Softback, 96 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection

Wotton-under-Edge Through Time - A fascinating collection of old and new photographs of this beautiful market town - Signed

Wotton-under-Edge, standing at the foot of the Cotswolds and tracing its roots back to Saxon times, has seen much change over the last 150 years. The industrial revolution, and the transformation of the transport industry, has greatly affected both the architecture and everyday practices of the town.

What to expect from 'Wotton-under-Edge Through Time'

Some of these changes have been small and gradual, some monumental. Once-empty streets are now cluttered with parked cars, new housing estates have spread outwards and the old woollen mills have found new life for a variety of businesses.

This book will take readers on a photographic guided tour of Wotton-under-Edge, past and present, and highlights some of the startling changes and similarities within this charming town.

'Wotton-under-Edge Through Time' in detail

Author: John Christopher (signed)
Publisher: Amberley Publishing 2011
ISBN: 9781848689640
Format: Softback 96 pages
Size: 234 x 165 mm
Condition: New

Part of the Droids Books Collection