The British Army 1939–45 (1): North-West Europe (Men-at-Arms, 354)

An Excellent quality book. Very interesting and informative. A good reference guide. Recommended to anybody interested in World War II.

I see Carter Rila has spammed his generic comments into this review as well. (Refers to review of volume 1) The colour plates in this book seem a bit washed out, but that may be the nature of all these figures in khaki. That is the only real criticism of this volume. What the book presents is a nice overview of the history of the British Army in Northwest Europe, both in 1939-40 and the French campaign, in the UK, and in Overlord and beyond on the continent. Additionally, a history of battle dress uniforms is sketched out and a brief survey of infantry equipment is given. Just enough for the average modeller to follow the directions on his 1:35 scale kit or 1/6 action figure, but beyond that obviously the reader will need to look elsewhere - such as Chappell's volume on British infantry equipment, or David Gordon's excellent books, or even Bouchery (though he does not specialize in equipment). Of course, the TOMMY and JUNGLE GREEN books would be a good bet for equipment also. The sidebars are interesting; inclusion of 21 Army Group HQ is an interesting touch. Very nice detail sketch of the workings of the No. 4 Mk 1 (T) sniper rifle - one wishes these sketches were more prevalent in all the MAA titles. Interesting tables on production figures, and a nice thumbnail sketch of the supporting corps and services and what they did. Photos are, in the main, well above average and some look like they could have been taken yesterday the quality and clarity is so great. Others are not as good, but most are unique and not the "stock" photos that grace so many generic volumes on British soldiers. Overall a good introduction to the subject, and reflects the current high state of the art of the MAA titles. Comments above are for Volume 1; I see my review is crossposted to Volume 2. I also own Volume 2 and find it just as useful as Volume 1. Sidebar info includes diagram of battledress insignia placement, and good map of the Middle East. Sadly, still no chart of rank, responsibilities and appointments. This is sadly lacking in most British Army references - the differences between rank and appointment were very real, and a good source of info on the difference betwen a Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant, Quartermaster Senior Instructor, and Regimental Sergeant Major would be a nice touch. Colour plates also seem a bit washed out, but poses are terrific and details are top notch.

This review is for the Kindle version. Great intro to the British WWII infantryman, covering NW Europe. Really useful. My only dissatisfaction was as lack of links between the plates and the plate descriptions. It is a pain to keep using bookmarks to refer to either picture or text.

Great price fast delivery.Well illustrated and lots of photos and a good book for reference for my British model soldiers thanks.

Great history book on WW2

A keen reader of military history and war gamer, I wanted another excellent book on uniforms. Osprey books are always good value and the plates give much information on uniforms etc.Great little book

Brilliant book great read