Today we're sharing the books we're publishing on our general military list between July and December next year.

 

War Dogs: The Canine Heroes of the World Wars  

Simon Offord 

15/07/2027 

A heartfelt celebration of the steadfast dogs who stood beside Allied forces, bringing courage and comfort when it mattered most. 

From the mud-soaked trenches of the Western Front to the shattered streets of the Blitz, this beautifully illustrated gift book celebrates the extraordinary dogs who served alongside Allied forces in two world wars. Messengers, medics, sentries, and rescuers, these dogs carried hope across battlefields and provided companionship into the darkest hours. Through dozens of photographs, moving stories, and spotlight features on heroic individual dogs, this volume honours the loyalty, intelligence, and bravery of canine companions whose quiet heroism helped change the course of history – and comforted those who fought to protect it. 

 

 Warship 50 

Editor: Stephen Dent and John Jordan 

08/07/2027 

To mark 50 years of Warship, the team reflects on naval affairs and maritime heritage in the last five decades, while celebrating the history and achievements of the acclaimed annual. 

From its beginnings as a quarterly publication in 1977, Warship has grown to become a unique resource for naval history. With each edition presenting subject experts’ detailed, original research into aspects of warship design, construction, and service history from the beginning of the ironclad era to the present day, it is a home for the world's serious naval enthusiasts to share and develop their knowledge. 

In this special Warship 50, the regular team of editors and contributors – many of whom have been part of the journal for decades – have created a history of both warships and Warship over the past half-century. Examining the major developments in naval technology and in the worlds of naval heritage and archaeology since the annual was established, it also offers an account of the annual’s surprisingly colourful history, a survey of the major series of articles that established Warship’s early reputation, an image gallery of favourite naval photographs, and an expert review of the best naval books of the last five decades. 

It is a fitting publication to mark a noteworthy achievement – half a century of Warship. 

 

Panzer-Pioniere  

Thomas Anderson 

05/08/2027 

This unique highly illustrated study tells the story of the equipment and combat tactics of the German military engineers of World War II. 

Military engineers have been a key component of armies from antiquity onwards, and the arrival of the tank on the battlefield in the 20th century only heightened their importance. With the rise of the Nazis to power in the 1930s and the German rearmament that followed, armoured engineers – or Panzer-Pioniere – became a vital part of the newly formed Panzerwaffe. 

At first, they were deployed, often under fire, to attack bunkers, border fortresses, clear anti-tank obstacles and build bridges. However, as the war progressed, developments in their tactics, weaponry and equipment to allow them to play a more decisive role on the battlefield. 

Renowned armour expert Thomas Anderson draws on first-hand accounts, after-action reports and other original wartime documents, and rare and previously unseen photographs in this comprehensive and fully illustrated study of the equipment and combat tactics of the German Panzer-Pioniere. 

 

Winston Churchill Through the Eyes of Others: 1939–45  

Fraser McCallum 

09/09/2027 

“God knows where we would be without him, but God knows where we shall go with him” 

“Without him England was lost for a certainty, with him England has been on the verge of disaster time and again.” 

Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke 

From field marshals to kitchen porters, this is a fascinating collection of viewpoints of Britain’s famous wartime leader from all walks of society.  

Churchill lived a full and busy life at the heart of British politics, holding senior positions and seeing active service in the First World War, as well as famously becoming Prime Minister during Britain’s ‘darkest hour’ in the Second World War and leading the country to eventual victory. It is his role as a wartime leader that is the focus of this fascinating new publication. Many of the roles he held and decisions he made have attracted both praise and controversy both during his lifetime and since including difficult wartime decisions. 

Gathering a wide range of different people’s thoughts on Churchill from the IWM’s Collections, this refreshing exploration of Churchill offers a multifaceted account of Britain’s complex war leader. It draws on rich archive material, comprising of ordinary people’s diaries and correspondence, as well as the diaries and letters written by political, military and public figures, to get to the heart of what people really thought about Churchill. The development of Churchill’s famed image and reputation is also traced through a selection of original artwork, posters, newspapers, pamphlets and printed books.

The reflections of people who knew – or knew of – Churchill captured in the IWM’s sound archive  provide a rich and compelling variety of views. Each opinion is contextualised with background information and details about each person and the event they refer to. These reflections are then set within a wider narrative context to build a fascinating account of a complex man as seen through the eyes of others. 

 

Kohima: The Battle That Ended Japan's Invasion of India, 1944

Robert Lyman 

09/09/2027 

A powerful reinterpretation of one of the Second World War’s most decisive yet overlooked battles, revealing how Indian and British soldiers halted Japan’s march into India and helped turn the tide of the war. 

In March 1944, the Japanese 15th Army crossed into India with an ambitious objective: to capture Imphal and Kohima, break into the Brahmaputra Valley and trigger political upheaval against British rule. Instead, over five months of ferocious fighting, the invasion ended in catastrophe. By August, the Japanese offensive had been shattered and the 15th Army virtually destroyed, marking a decisive reversal of fortunes in the Burma campaign and the wider war in Asia. 

In The Greatest Battle, distinguished historian Robert Lyman places Kohima at the centre of this story, arguing that it deserves recognition as one of the most important battles of the twentieth century. He also restores Indian soldiers to their rightful place in the narrative. The army that defended Kohima and Imphal was predominantly Indian, drawn from a force of 2.5 million volunteers – the largest volunteer army in the history of warfare. These men were not fighting simply for the British Empire to preserve the Raj; they were defending their homeland from a Japanese invasion. 

Drawing on extensive research, The Greatest Battle challenges established interpretations of the campaign. It rejects the notion that the Japanese commander Kotoku Sato was an enlightened dissenter trapped by events, arguing instead that his decision to commit 20,000 men to the costly struggle around Kohima squandered a potentially greater strategic opportunity beyond the ridge at Dimapur. The result was disaster: by the time the survivors retreated into Burma, only a fraction of the force remained effective, weakened by starvation, disease and combat losses. 

A sweeping account of leadership and battlefield endurance, The Greatest Battle offers a fresh perspective on the campaigns of Imphal and Kohima and on the role of Indian soldiers in the defeat of Japan and the eventual creation of a free India. 

 

Lafayette - American General  

John R. Maass 

09/09/2027 

He defied a king, crossed an ocean, and volunteered to fight for a nation not yet born. Lafayette – American General tells the story of how a young French aristocrat became one of George Washington's most trusted commanders and a key figure in America's fight for independence. 
 
Lafayette – American General offers a fresh and revealing portrait of one of the most celebrated figures of the American Revolution by focusing on the four formative years that transformed a young French aristocrat into a military leader and indispensable ally of the United States. 
 
At just nineteen years old, the Marquis de Lafayette defied King Louis XVI, crossed the Atlantic without permission, and volunteered to serve in the Continental Army without pay. Over the course of the Revolutionary War, he fought alongside George Washington, earned the trust of the American commander-in-chief, and rose from an ambitious and often impulsive young officer into a proven commander. From the fields of Brandywine and Monmouth to the decisive Yorktown campaign, Lafayette played a vital role in securing American independence. 
 
While most biographies concentrate on Lafayette’s later career in Revolutionary France, this major new study places his American military service at the center of the story. Drawing on extensive research, it traces his experiences from his arrival in 1777 through his crucial leadership in Virginia and his prominent role in the siege of Yorktown in 1781. Along the way, it explores his close relationship with Washington, his service as one of the youngest generals in American history, and the battlefield experiences that shaped his understanding of leadership, war, and liberty. 
 
Published during the 250th anniversary era of the United States, Lafayette – American General is the first full-length study in decades devoted exclusively to Lafayette’s American military career, offering a compelling reassessment of the man Washington called “an essential friend to America.” 

 

Modern Naval Warfare: How to Win at Sea in the Mid-21st Century 

Andrew Livsey 

16/09/2027 

In this accessible, superbly illustrated guide, the former head of the Royal Navy’s advanced warfare training demystifies what makes up modern naval warfare. 
 
The world of naval warfare is changing fast. Naval drones are fighting in the Black Sea with increasing capabilities and ranges, while hybrid wars simmer over seabed communications. The world’s navies are frantically incorporating uncrewed warfare and completely new types of warships into their next-generation fleets, while preparing for how a full-scale naval war – such as over Taiwan – may be fought. 
 
Yet much of this is often both overhyped and misunderstood. In this book Dr Andrew Livsey, the author of some of the Royal Navy’s Fighting Instructions and now an academic naval writer, presents an all-encompassing, impressively informed, yet very readable guide to modern naval warfare. From a concise explanation of the technology, principles, and practice of combat above, below and on the sea, he goes on to give a professional’s view of the many elements that go into waging naval war, incorporating everything from tactics to equipment and from devising strategies to planning campaigns. 
 
Illustrated in colour throughout with photography and original diagrams, Modern Naval Warfare is an essential guide to the maritime battlefield today and of the near future, and how to master the radical changes happening now. 

 

Paris: A City At War, 1939-1945  

Prit Buttar 

07/10/2027 

From the humiliation of German victory parades to the street fighting of liberation, this is the story of Paris at its darkest and most defiant: a city that endured occupation, adapted to survival and ultimately fought back. 
 
When war returned to Europe in 1939, Paris stood at the heart of a nation haunted by the losses of the First World War and uncertain how to confront a new German threat. Less than a year later, the seemingly invincible French capital was declared an open city, sparing it the devastation of urban combat but condemning it to one of the greatest humiliations in its history: the sight of German troops marching triumphantly through its streets. 
 
This compelling history follows Paris through six extraordinary years of occupation, resistance and liberation. Moving from the political and military decisions that led to France's rapid defeat in 1940 to the dramatic uprising that helped free the city in August 1944, it explores how ordinary Parisians navigated a world of fear, deprivation and impossible moral choices. 
 
Drawing together the intertwined stories of collaboration, resistance, persecution and survival, the book examines the realities of life under German rule, from rationing and food shortages to the deportation of France’s Jews and the growth of clandestine resistance networks. It also confronts the myths that emerged after liberation, when memories of defeat and occupation were reshaped by politics, patriotism and the search for national redemption. 
 
Rich in military, political and social history, Paris at War presents the French capital as both a unique city and a microcosm of occupied France. Readers will discover how war transformed an iconic city and left legacies that continue to shape our understanding of the Second World War today. 

 

Shadow Kings: Tragedy of the Conqueror's Heirs  

Catherine Hanley 

4/11/2027 

The untold story of Robert Curthose and William Clito, the son and grandson of William the Conqueror who spent their lives pursuing a crown that should have been theirs. A gripping tale of ambition, warfare and dynastic rivalry in the turbulent aftermath of the Norman Conquest. 
 
Did you know that when William the Conqueror died, he left the throne of England not to his eldest son, but to his second? That decision set in motion one of the most dramatic and little-known succession struggles of the Middle Ages. Shadow Kings tells the story of Robert Curthose and William Clito, two heirs denied the inheritance many believed was theirs by right. 
 
While history remembers William the Conqueror and the kings who followed him, far less known are the lives of the son and grandson excluded from power. Robert Curthose expected to succeed his father, only to see England pass instead to his younger brother, William Rufus. His quest to reclaim his birthright took him from the battlefields of Normandy to the First Crusade, where he won renown as a warrior. But after returning to challenge his younger brother Henry I, Robert was defeated and captured at the pivotal Battle of Tinchebrai in 1106, spending the rest of his life in prison. Yet his story did not end there: his young son, William Clito, carried on the struggle. 
 
Raised as a fugitive and hunted across Europe, William grew into one of Henry I's most dangerous rivals. As alliances shifted, father and son sustained a rival claim to the English throne for more than forty years. Drawing on extensive original research and contemporary sources, Shadow Kings brings to life a compelling story of family conflict, ambition, betrayal and war. Rich in drama, military action and larger-than-life personalities, it offers a fresh perspective on the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and the forgotten princes who came closest to changing the course of English history. 

 

Stuka: Hitler’s Weapon of Terror 

Robert Forsyth 

11/11/2027 

A captivating and gripping account of the history and career of one the most iconic and fearsome aerial weapons of World War II. 

This new study of the Stuka examines how the aircraft and their elite crews performed in the times of triumph over Poland and the Low Countries, and when faced with the prospect of military failure, such as when the Stukageschwadern encountered the Hurricanes and Spitfires of RAF Fighter Command defending southern England in 1940. Finally, it describes how crews dealt with the demands and stress of continual movement in the extreme conditions of the Mediterranean and North African summers and the bitter winters of the Eastern Front. 

Based on the accounts of former Stuka pilots and the war diaries of Stukageschwadern, combined with archival research, aviation expert Robert Forsyth takes the reader ‘into the cockpit’ following the activities of a small number of pilots and describes what it was like to train for, and to fly, this formidable aircraft in combat – from the Spanish Civil War to the Battle of Kursk; from bombing the beaches and ships off Dunkirk, to attacking Malta and British aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean.  

 

Russian and Soviet Tanks 1946–2025  

Steven J. Zaloga 

11/11/2027 

A comprehensive and detailed illustrated examination of the development and combat performance of Russian/Soviet battle tanks from the end of World War II through to the modern day. 

In this, the second of two highly illustrated volumes examining the history of Russian and Soviet battle tanks, Steven J. Zaloga focuses on the history of Russian tank development in the final Stalin years through 1953 and the focus on traditional tank concepts. It then turns to the tumultuous Khrushchev years, which limited heavy tanks in favor of missiles and missile tanks. Following his overthrow, the Soviet Army found itself facing newer NATO tanks, leading to the creation of the T-62 and T-64. The book covers the pre- and post-Soviet collapse and includes a look at the current war in Ukraine. 

Expanding on material published in Osprey series, including New Vanguard, Duel and Campaign, Russian and Soviet Battle Tanks 1946–2025 explores the concepts and production of tanks such as the T-55, T-64, T-72 and T-80. It describes the experiences of the crews who saw combat, the performance of each tank in battle, and how the Russian and Soviet armored fighting vehicles compared with the enemy armor it faced, as well as the key lessons learned from combat that led to new concepts and technological breakthroughs.