Berliner Zinnfiguren/Books & Media/Book series/Military history/Latin America @ War products

Marón, Gustavo: Flashes in the Dark. Volume 3: USAF Nuclear Espionage in Argentina, 1967–1974 26,95 €

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:52:19 +0200

Volume 54 of the "Latin America @ War" series sheds light on one of the least-known aspects of Cold War military history: the secret flight missions conducted by the United States Air Force in Argentina. Drawing on over twenty years of researchincorporating archives, photographs, and eyewitness accountsthe series reveals how the USAF carried out covert operations on Argentine soil and in its airspace under the guise of meteorological and scientific work, often without the knowledge of local authorities. The third volume of "Flashes in the Dark" concludes the story of US nuclear espionage operations in Argentina. It begins with the exposure of the US contingent's true purpose at El Plumerillo Airporta revelation stemming from the persistent efforts of Argentine journalists in 1968; their original reports are presented here in English for the first time. Despite this development, US operations actually intensified when French nuclear testing in the South Pacific resumed in 1970. This led to the deployment of unprecedented numbers of Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F and Boeing WC-135B reconnaissance aircraft to analyze radioactive fallout. However, as Volume 3 details, the political situation in Argentina and the wider region deteriorated rapidly. Before long, the US mission in Argentina was entangled not only in nuclear espionage but also in the power struggle for control of the country and the dramatic events of the 1973 coup in neighboring Chile. Based on extensive research, author Gustavo Marón weaves these records into an extraordinary "symphony"one performed in Argentina over the course of fifteen years under the strictest secrecy.

Marón, Gustavo: Flashes in the Dark. Band 2: Nuclear espionage in Argentina, Nuclear espionage in Argentina, 1957-1989 26,95 €

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 07:05:14 +0200

A volume from the series Latin America @ War. Flashes in the Dark Volume 2 continues the story of US nuclear espionage carried out from Argentine territory or Argentine airspace. Following the secret deployment of older, modified aircraft that had previously been used to detect uranium deposits, the US Air Force began stationing types such as the Lockheed WU-2A and Martin NB-57B at Ezeiza Airport outside Buenos Aires between 1958 and 1960. These were tasked with detecting radioactive particles from nuclear and thermonuclear explosions in the Soviet Union and France. Later, in 1966, a permanent unit was established in the IV Air Brigade in Mendoza to spy on French explosions in the Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls using Lockheed WU-2C, Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F and various variants of the Boeing C-135 investigation and weather aircraft, as well as electronic reconnaissance. Despite the official recognition of AFOAT-1/AFTAC in 1975, much remains secret about these two units, a protective shield to which the USAF's lawyers have contributed very efficiently by refusing to release their documents and even to draw up an official history focusing on the first years of the unit's existence, when the first North American spy planes were deployed in Argentina. However, the door that the USAF had locked with ten padlocks stood next to windows that other US federal agencies opened over time. In fact, over the years, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has obtained and made available to the public documents that were originally classified as secret and originated from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC), the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Environmental Measurement Laboratory (EML). A number of these documents referred to or were related to the AFOAT-1/AFTAC units, enabling the author to reconstruct the nuclear weapons remote sensing activities carried out in Argentina and confirm isolated notes of a symphony that was performed so masterfully in our country for fifteen years without anyone being able to hear it. The air operations carried out from Argentina were classified as top secret (Top Secret and Top Secret Umbra), so the officers were careful not to leave any traces, clues or records behind. The secrecy was so strict that not even the Argentine Air Force knew exactly what was going on in Ezeiza and Mendoza, the two airports from which the secret air operations were permanently carried out and which were both under its jurisdiction. Given the unprecedented and sensitive nature of the topics covered in this book, the author provides numerous bibliographical and documentary references so that other researchers can use them in future work.

Marón, Gustavo: Flashes in the Dark. Band 1: Nuclear espionage in Argentina, 1946-1957 26,95 €

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:00:10 +0200

A volume from the series Latin America @ War. Flashes in the Dark focuses on one of the most unknown and interesting aspects of contemporary military history: the air activities of the US Air Force in Argentina in the context of the Cold War the period of bipolar tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in 1945 and ended in 1989-1991 when one of the two rival giants collapsed for social, political and economic reasons. The title of the book is due to the fact that its original foundations were merely flashes: small sparks of information that came to light during more than 20 years of research in huge documents, photographs and witness statements that the author had collected about the North American air operations and space activities under the strictest conditions of secrecy from Argentine territory or in Argentine airspace. The book describes both these missions and the context and circumstances that led to them being kept secret even from the Argentine political and military authorities. The aim of the book is to lift the veil of silence and obfuscation that has surrounded US military activities in Latin America in general and in Argentina in particular for decades, and to reveal aspects that were previously unknown to the public. The facts and circumstances described in the book are virtually contemporaneous with the establishment of the USAF as an independent defence institution in 1947. A few months later, in August 1948, the Air Force Office of Atomic Energy (AFOAT-1) was established and tasked with administering the so-called Atomic Energy Detection System (AEDS). The top-secret purpose of AFOAT-1 was to detect foreign nuclear tests and other activities related to nuclear weapons, such as the collection of gases and radioactive microparticles that would make it possible to reverse engineer the industrial capabilities, technological status and size of the nuclear weapons arsenal of the countries being spied on, initially the Soviet Union and later France and China. AFOAT-1, later renamed the Air Force Technical Applications Centre (AFTAC), had early success with the discovery of the first Soviet nuclear test, which was secretly conducted on 29 August 1949 in the Semipalatinsk steppe in the Kazakh SSR. The radioactive residues released into the atmosphere were detected by a specially modified Boeing WB-29 Superfortress flying between the US Air Force bases at Misawa in Japan and Eielson in Alaska under the guise of a weather survey. This enabled the Tracerlab Incorporated laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to quickly confirm that the Soviet Union had achieved nuclear weapons capability. Armed with this information, US President Harry S. Truman made the discovery public on 23 September 1949, suddenly lifting the veil of Soviet secrecy and forcing his rival, Prime Minister Joseph Stalin, to admit that his country had indeed conducted its first successful nuclear test. This intelligence game was repeated countless times, providing the highest levels of the US government with accurate information another reason to keep secret the operations of the supposedly meteorological aircraft, which, as was publicly stated, were only conducting atmospheric research. The intelligence potential of AFOAT-1/AFTAC and its importance to the national security of the United States were so great that both agencies always operated in absolute secrecy, so that their existence was not acknowledged until 1975, a year after the USAF gave up its permanent base on Argentine territory. Nuclear espionage in Argentina began in 1946 with the secret deployment of Douglas C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymaster aircraft to detect uranium deposits, the raw material for the construction of atomic and thermonuclear weapons. The flights were then continued with a Boeing WB-29 Superfortress to spy on the nuclear project that Argentina was secretly carrying out on Huemul Island in Lake Nahuel Huapi. The air operations carried out from Argentina were classified as top secret (Top Secret and Top Secret Umbra), so the officers were careful not to leave any traces, clues or records behind. The secrecy was so strict that not even the Argentine Air Force knew exactly what was going on in Ezeiza and Mendoza, the two airports from which the secret air operations were permanently carried out and which were both under its jurisdiction. Given the unprecedented and sensitive nature of the topics covered in this book, the author provides numerous bibliographical and documentary references so that other researchers can use them in their future work.

Fracchia, Antonio Luis: Araguaia War. Volume 2: Counterinsurgency Operations Against the Communist Guerilla in Brazil, 1967-1974 26,95 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:55:08 +0200

Volume 46 in the series Latin America @ War. The Guerrilha do Araguaia (Araguaia Guerrilla) was an armed conflict that took place between 1967 and 1974 in Brazil in the Araguaia river basin in the states of Maranhao, Pará and Goiás, deep in the Amazon region in an area called Bico do Papagaio (Parrot's Beak). The movement was founded by activists of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCdoB) at the time the Maoist faction of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) with the aim of establishing a rural stronghold from which to wage a people's war against the military regime that had been ruling Brazil since the 1964 coup d'état. Their strategy was inspired by the successful tactics employed by the 26th of July Movement during the Cuban Revolution and by the Chinese Communist Party during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Volume 2 of this miniseries is divided into two chapters. Chapter 1 examines the armed insurgency and counterinsurgency operations conducted by the Brazilian armed forces against the guerrillas. Chapter 2 focuses on the events that followed the insurgents' defeat. The appendices include an extensive interview with Colonel Pedro Correa Cabral, a pilot who flew the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog observation plane and the Bell UH-1D and UH-1H helicopters during the campaign. As usual in the Latin America @ War series, this book is richly illustrated with authentic photos, maps and specially created colour profiles.

Flores, Santiago/Garza, M. Reyna: Decades of Rebellion. Volume 1: Mexican Military Aviation in the Rebellions of the 1920s 26,95 €

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:20:29 +0200

One volume in the series Latin America @ War. The miniseries The Decades of Rebellion examines the use of air power in several armed uprisings and the related matters of armed strikes and armed banditry in Mexico from the 1920s to the 1940s. Also, due to its proximity to the Mecca of US aviation in California, Mexican military aviation experienced rapid growth and intense participation, and this is the first authoritative and detailed account of its history during this period. Volume 2 includes a detailed description of the Mexican Air Force in action during the Cristeros religious war, the Gomez-Serrano rebellion, the Escobar rebellion, and the Cedillo rebellion. Although these events are often unknown outside the country, they have shaped the country's future and continue to have an influence today. Furthermore, these decades of small but intense combat missions were not only the baptism of fire for many early Mexican airmen, but also played a crucial role in training almost all of the commanders who would later lead the Mexican Air Force in World War II. Decades of Rebellion is lavishly illustrated with more than 150 exclusive photographs and colour profiles, and is the first definitive account of air operations over Mexico from 1910 to 1939. As such, it is an indispensable reference source for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Tincopa, Amaru: Guardian Falcons. Volume 1: Peruvian Air Force in Counterinsurgency Operations, 1924-1956 26,95 €

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 20:52:19 +0200

One volume in the series Latin America @ War. The publication covers the eventful history of Peruvian military aviation and its involvement in the turbulent political history of Peru in the first half of the 20th century, and tells in detail never-before-told events from the history of aviation in this South American country. From the use of aircraft to intimidate rebel troops at the beginning of the century, to the brutal use of air power against entire populations, to involvement in various coups d'état, the reader will find aviation stories never before published.

Higuch, Hélio/ Fracchia, Antonio Luis Sapienza: Operation Power Pack. Volume 1: Civil War in the Dominican Republic, 1965 26,95 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:55:08 +0200

One volume in the series Latin America @ War. During the 1950s and 1960s, during the rule of Rafael Trujillo over the Dominican Republic, the armed forces of the Dominican Republic experienced a major military upsurge. In particular, the Dominican Air Force (FAD) grew stronger and stronger. This pattern was followed by short-lived governments of Rafael's brother Héctor, then Joaquin Balaguer and Rafael Bonnelly. On 27 February 1963, Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviño was sworn in as the first democratically elected president of the Dominican Republic. He attempted to implement a series of social reforms, but immediately incurred the wrath of the business magnates and the military, who began spreading rumours that Bosch was a communist. On 25 September 1963, the president was overthrown in a coup d'état by a group of 25 military officers led by General Elias Wessin y Wessin, who installed Donald Reid Cabral as the new president. Unsurprisingly, Reid failed to find support among the population and several factions became embroiled in a power struggle. The so-called Lealistas (loyalists), led by Generals Pedro Benoit and Antonio Imbert, sought to maintain a military dictatorship. The Constitutionalistas (constitutionalists), led by General Francisco Caamaño and allied with the Dominical Revolutionary Party, supported Bosch. On 24 April 1965, three non-commissioned officers demanded a meeting with President Reid. When he refused and sent the chief of staff Riviera Cuesta instead, he was arrested. A group of military constitutionalists then took over the radio station Radio Santo Domingo and called for an uprising, while other officers began distributing weapons to their civilian sympathisers. The calls on the radio prompted several units to defect and abandon their position. Reid appointed General Wessin y Wessin as the new Chief of Staff and tried to rally the remaining forces around him and quash the rebellion. However, the constitutionalistas stormed the presidential palace in Santo Domingo and arrested him. The lealistas responded by launching air strikes against numerous constitutionalista positions and deployed a warship to bomb the National Palace. Fearing that the mob that had gathered in front of the palace might lynch Reid, and since Bosch had already lost the support of the loyalists, the rebel leader Francisco Caamaño who by now commanded over 6,500 armed men released the president. At this point, the United States of America became active. Initially, US diplomats planned to evacuate some 3,500 US citizens, and in the early morning of 27 April, over 1,100 expatriates were flown out of the country. However, when Lealista's troops marched on the capital, while the rebels occupied further positions, executed a number of police officers and a US Marine Corps soldier was killed by a rebel sniper, the US ambassador declared the insurgents communists and called on US President Lyndon B. Johnson to act immediately. Against the advice of his advisors, Johnson ordered the evacuation to be transformed into a full-scale military intervention: Operation Power Pack. The first open U.S. military intervention in Latin America in more than 30 years was launched in the early morning of 30 April 1965 and involved 22,500 troops, two aircraft carriers, and over 200 aircraft and helicopters. After weeks of often chaotic fighting and two failed ceasefires, a truce was brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS). US troops were replaced by 1,500 OAS troops and began a gradual withdrawal at the end of May 1965, but the civil war did not end until 31 August with a ceasefire agreement. Operation Power Pack is the first military history of the civil war and the interventions of the United States and the OAS in the Dominican Republic in 1965 and is richly illustrated with authentic photographs and specially produced colour profiles.

Higuch, Hélio/ Fracchia, Antonio Luis Sapienza: Operation Power Pack. Volume 2: The April Revolution and the Inter-American Peacekeeping Force, 1965-1966 26,95 €

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 07:35:05 +0200

One volume in the series Latin America @ War. When the civil war in the Dominican Republic intensified in 1965, the United States of America intervened. Initially, US diplomats planned to evacuate some 3,500 US citizens, and in the early morning of 27 April, more than 1,100 emigrants were flown out of the country. However, as Leales' troops advanced on the capital, the rebels occupied further positions, executed a number of police officers and a US Marine Corps soldier was killed by a rebel sniper, the US ambassador declared the rebels communists and called on US President Lyndon B. Johnson to act immediately. Against the advice of his advisors, Johnson ordered the evacuation to be transformed into a full-scale military intervention: Operation Power Pack. The first open U.S. military intervention in Latin America in more than 30 years was launched in the early morning of 30 April 1965 and involved 22,500 troops, two aircraft carriers, and over 200 aircraft and helicopters. After weeks of often chaotic fighting and two failed ceasefires, a truce was brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS). US troops were replaced by 1,500 troops from the OAS-organised Inter-American Peace Force (IAPF), which began a gradual withdrawal at the end of May 1965. However, the civil war did not officially end until 31 August with a ceasefire agreement. Operation Power Pack is the first military history of the civil war and the US and OAS interventions in the Dominican Republic in 1965, and contains numerous images of authentic photos and specially created colour profiles.

Fracchia, Antonio Luis Sapienza: Che Guevara's Final Adventure 26,95 €

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:05:14 +0200

Volume 45 in the Latin America @ War series is a detailed military history of Ernesto Che Guevara's last campaign, when he commanded the Ejércitode Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army, ELN) of Bolivia in a doomed campaign against the U.S.-backed military regime led by Air Force General René Barrientos. After a failed campaign to bring his type of revolution to Africa, and with the blessing of Fidel Castro (possibly to distance Castro from Guevara) , the Argentine-born Ernesto Guevara led the Cuban-backed National Liberation Army in the Nancahuazú region of Bolivia in 1966 and 1967, known as the Nancahuazú guerrillas. Guevara believed that Bolivia was ripe for revolution after the overthrow of former President Víctor Paz Estenssoro in November 1964, and he thought that the US would not support President Barrientos. Guevara's guerrillas scored some initial successes early in their campaign before the Bolivian army and security forces, now trained and supported by U.S. special forces, launched a relentless pursuit aided by Bolivian air force aircraft. In a campaign typical of the brutal guerrilla wars being fought in South America at the time, the guerrillas were rounded up and killed in action or summarily executed, often after capture, interrogation, and torture. In October 1967, Guevara met this fate. Che Guevara's Final Adventure offers a detailed military history of the last campaign of a figure who remains an instantly recognizable, if controversial, icon of the leftist revolutionary movements of the Cold War era. This work is illustrated throughout with original photographs and includes specially commissioned color artwork.

Higuchi, Hélio/Fracchia, Antonio Luis Sapienza: Cuban Army Air Corps. Volume 1: 1913-1952 26,95 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:55:08 +0200

A volume from the series Latin America @ War. In 1910, less than a decade after gaining independence from Spain, Cuba began its first aeronautical activities, and in 1913 the Cuerpo de Aviación del Ejército de Cuba (CAEC, Cuban Army Air Corps) was established, long before many other Latin American countries established similar services. During World War I, Cuban military pilots were trained in the United States and were about to be sent to the Western Front in France, but the war ended before that could happen. CAEC grew in the years that followed, benefiting from the US Lend-Lease Program during World War II when Cuba supported the Allies, and from other programs such as the American Republics Program (ARP) and the Mutual Defence Assistant Program (MDAP) in the post-war years. These programmes not only provided the CAEC with aircraft, but also trained its pilots and mechanics. This volume examines the origins of Cuban aviation, the organisation and development of the CAEC, Cuban military aviation during World War II, the failed deployment of the Caribbean Legion to Cayo Confites, Cuban naval aviation and the CAEC in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and includes a brief biography of Fulgencio Batista. The appendices list all CAEC aircraft types from 1913 to 1952, when they were incorporated into the Cuban Navy.

Jones, Serena (Hrsg.): Home & Away 32,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:25:24 +0200

The experience of war is never limited to those who are militarily involved: while soldiers defend their homeland or fight far away from it, the consequences of war affect their immediate families and communities, as well as the lives of countless civilians whom the combatants will never meet. In the 17th century, as in every other era, the wives and children of soldiers could fall into poverty or danger in the absence of their men, and many sought refuge elsewhere or followed the army on its campaigns. At the same time, complex military and administrative apparatuses emerged to arm, feed and clothe the combatants and to control distant territories often by force. The speakers at Helion's third Century of the Soldier conference focused on a wide range of topics, including personal experiences of war in distant conflicts and at home, as well as the Herculean efforts required to sustain conflicts. Keynote speaker Professor Peter Gaunt examines what is arguably the most gruelling and uncertain aspect of warfare alongside the fighting itself: the need to travel long distances and venture into unknown or even hostile places. Simon Marsh examines the defeat of the Earl of Essex's army at Lostwithiel in 1644 and the logistics behind its reconstitution within a few weeks. Rachael Abbiss takes us to the Indian War of 1688, when the British colonies in North America had to be defended permanently by armed forces and extensive administration was required across the ocean. Stephen Ede-Borrett examines the phenomenon of Deserters' Notices (wanted notices for deserters) in the London Gazette in the 1680s and the attempts by army commanders to find missing recruits. Laurence Spring looks at the often gruelling experiences of soldiers' wives in Britain and Europe, both those who stayed at home and those who followed their husbands. Alan Turton brings together a range of contemporary and archaeological sources to give a detailed account of the three times besieged Basing House; the life and predominantly military works of the gifted Bohemian draughtsman and engraver Wenceslaus Hollar are examined in depth by David Flintham. Finally, Jon Day takes us to Ireland in the late 1640s and reports on how Colonel Michael Jones played a key role in suppressing the Royalist movement before the arrival of Oliver Cromwell.

Fracchia, Antinio Luis Sapienza: Operativo Independencia. Volume 2: Argentina’s war against the Guerrillas, 1975-1976 26,95 €

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 06:50:10 +0200

"Operativo Independencia" offers a detailed military history of the massive and effective military response ordered by the constitutional government of President María Estela Martínez de Perón of Argentina. Decree No. 261/75 of 5 February 1975 had the objective of annihilating guerrilla terrorism of Argentinas Marxist-Leninist so-called People's Revolutionary Army (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo/ERP) and the left-wing Peronist group called Montoneros.
Volume 2 of "Operativo Independencia" examines the operation between 1975 and 1976, including all the military and police operations in the Province of Tucumán and throughout the entire country, and details all the military and police units and aircraft deployed. In addition, the 1976 coup through which a Military Junta was established to rule the country and the beginning of the Dirty War against the subversive organizations, both in the countryside and the main cities are examined, along with the defeat of the subversive groups, and a final balance of the casualties and "disappeared" of this conflict, along with the eventual fates of the military juntas once they left power.
"Operativo Independencia" offers a unique military history of a very dark episode in the history of Argentina and avoiding the conventional narrative of depicting the participants solely as victims and perpetrators.

Fracchia, Antonio Luis Sapienza: Araguaia War. Counterinsurgency against the Communist Guerrillas of Brazil, 1964-1985 26,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:25:08 +0200

In 1964 a right-wing military coup seized power in Brazil. The Araguaia Guerrilla movement, formed by the Communist Party of Brazil in the late 1960s, launched an armed opposition to the US-backed military government with the intention of waging a Maoist-style peoples war from its base area along the banks of the Araguaia river. Between 1972 and 1974 the Brazilian military launched a brutal campaign to destroy the Araguaia Guerrilla in its jungle stronghold.
While the idea of armed opposition to the military government of Brazil was popular amongst the Brazilian left-wing, it was the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) that actually formed such a movement. They selected as their base area the towns along the banks of the Araguaia River where tensions between locals and the government-backed mining operations already existed. The concept was that a rural peoples war would be waged from this base area, inspired by Maos campaign in the Chinese Civil War and the successful Cuban Revolution. Never a large organization, the Araguaia Guerrilla movement avoided much attention of the government until 1972 when the military launched a campaign that by 1974 would leave few survivors.
"Araguaia War" examines the military regime in Brazil between 1964 and 1985, and the subversive groups, both urban and rural that appeared in that country in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Brazilian military and police forces in the 1960s and 70s are described in detail, along with their campaign against the armed opposition in Araguaia, in the states of Maranhao, Pará and Goiás, and the actions of the guerilla movement.

Fracchia, Antonio Luis Sapienza: The Beagle Conflict. Volume 2: Argentina and Chile on the Brink of War 1978-1984 26,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:20:30 +0200

The Beagle conflict was a territorial dispute between Argentina and Chile over the determination of the layout of the eastern mouth of the Beagle Channel, which affected the sovereignty of the islands located south of the channel and east of the meridian Cape Horn and its adjacent maritime spaces.
The first antecedents of the conflict date from 1888, seven years after the signing of the Treaty of Limits and in 1901, the first Argentine map appeared in which some of the islands in question were drawn under Argentine sovereignty. Despite the small size of the islands, their strategic value between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans caused a long conflict between the two South American states during much of the 20th century.

The conflict focused on the dispute over the sovereignty of the islands and the oceanic rights generated by them to Chile, but it was not limited exclusively to these islands. In the first volume, it will be seen that the border conflicts between the two countries began from the years of the independence of Chile and Argentina from the Spanish Crown and were located in various geographical points in the north, center and south of both countries. The first volume covers all conflicts up to the beginning of 1978, with the detailed description of the land, naval and air military forces of both countries. This second volume deals in the same way with the disputes between 1978 and 1984.

Riccio, Ralph/Pieri, Mario/Guglielmi, Daniele: Italian Soft-Skinned Vehicles of the Second World War. Volume 1: Motocycles, Cars, Trucks, Artillery Tractors 1935-1945 31,95 €

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:00:14 +0200

In this book the authors focus on the means of transport in force in the Italian Royal Army from the 1930s to the end of the Second World War. Little has been said about them in recent years, even in Italy, with some exceptions.
It is common opinion that the Italian Army was beaten above all because of the poor quality of its combat vehicles. Actually, impartial and in-depth studies made since shortly after the end of the war, have revealed that the main problem was the shortage of vehicles, as well as an entirely insufficient logistics chain. The tank crews were able to compensate with bravery and experience for the fact that their tanks were, from a certain point on, inferior to those of their enemies, but the inadequate number of AFVs and other material was impossible to remedy. The same problem plagued the entire sector of military soft-skinned vehicles, a sign of Italys limited industrial capacity (and rather of procurement of raw materials and components) compared, for example, to its ally Germany. There were too few factories, too few skilled workers and poor management skills within the armed forces.
However, if quantity was lacking, the same cannot be said for quality. Many models of efficient, robust and resistant vehicles were produced, especially in the sector of the so-called "standardized" motor vehicles, such as those mentioned at the beginning and others that we will see. These vehicles allowed the Italian troops to move and fight in the large and difficult territories of North Africa, the Balkans and the Soviet Union and which brought home what was left of the defeated soldiers.

This is the first English-language study describing the soft-skinned vehicles of the Italian Armed Forces, starting from the 1930s, in which Mussolinis Italy faced some colonial conflicts and participated - albeit unofficially - in the Spanish Civil War, until throughout the Second World War. For each vehicle there is a file describing its evolution and the main technical aspects, accompanied by one or more photographs and, for the most significant examples, line drawings. The work is enriched by a historical introduction, various appendices and color profiles.

Sapienza, Antonio Luis: The Beagle Conflict. Volume 1: Argentina and Chile on the Brink of War in 1978 26,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:20:28 +0200

Marón, Gustavo: Juliet, Tango, November. A Cold War Crime. The Shoot-Down of an Argentine CL-44 over Soviet Armenia, July 1981 26,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:20:28 +0200

On July 18, 1981, a Canadair CL-44D Swingtail cargo plane from the Argentine company Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense, mysteriously disappeared over the Soviet Republic of Armenia while on a flight between Tehran (Iran) and Larnaca (Cyprus).
Four days later, on July 22, 1981, the Vremya television news broadcast in Moscow, the information provided by the TASS news agency, according to which, a plane of unidentified origin had entered Soviet territory in the vicinity of the Armenian city of Yerevan. According to the official TASS agency, the plane had ignored calls from air traffic control services, while carrying out dangerous manoeuvres, by virtue of which, it had ended up colliding with another Soviet aircraft, crashed and burned.
With this cryptic information began one of the most impressive and least known stories of Argentine civil aviation: the shooting down of the freighter registered LV-JTN by the Soviet Air Defence. The episode, severely covered up by Moscow, was part of a much larger geopolitical scenario: the clandestine transport of American weapons that was taking place between Tel Aviv and Tehran by virtue of a secret agreement between the Iranian and Israeli governments, at a time when it weighed heavily on Iran, a total embargo on arms sales ordered by the United States after the hostage-taking that occurred in 1979 at the US Embassy in Tehran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, formed as a result of the Islamic Revolution that had broken out that same year, was an avowed enemy of Israel, whom it considered a mere Zionist regime to be eliminated. The Iranian religious leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, did not recognise the State of Israel, which he referred to simply as "little Satan". However, the Iranians desperately needed supplies of US weapons because a few months earlier, on 22 September 1980, they had been invaded from Iraq by Saddam Husseins forces, starting the Persian Gulf War. The Israelis saw the possibility of carrying out a sideline business and thus, embarked on a supply operation that was as secret as it was clandestine.
The intelligence services of the Soviet Union soon became aware of the secret arms trafficking and decided to divert one of the compromised planes to force it to land in their territory with the aim of exposing the operation and all the protagonists involved. By interfering with radio communications and manipulating aids to navigation, the KGB managed to divert the plane from its route, making it fly within the Soviet Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. But the Sukhoi Su-15TM fighters dispatched to intercept it, failed in their mission so the control centre ordered the downing of the Argentine plane before it left Armenian airspace.

The Soviet conspiracy of silence began after discovering that its Air Defence had destroyed an Argentine-flagged civil plane, with an Argentine crew, which was flying empty. The Moscow governments cover-up was soon joined by that of Israel, Iran, the United States and Argentina, whose governments sought to keep the issue of arms trafficking the closest of secrets.

Francois, David: El Salvador. Volume 2: Conflagration, 1984-1992 26,95 €

Sat, 23 May 2026 07:30:10 +0200

This is the first inclusive and incisive military history of the incredibly vicious, merciless war in El Salvador: one of two major conflicts fought in Central America in the 1980s within the context of the Cold War. Based on official documentation and carefully cross-referenced secondary sources, it is lavishly illustrated with authentic photography and custom-drawn colour profiles, and as such is an indispensable single-point source of reference.

Sapienza, Antonio Luis: Revolución Libertadora. Volume 2: The 1955 Coup that Overthrew President Perón 25,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:20:28 +0200

Revolución Libertadora - or the Liberating Revolution - is the name by which the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina is known after overthrowing the constitutional president, Juan Domingo Perón, closing the National Congress, deposing the members of the Supreme Court, the provincial and municipal authorities and university and commissioning the entire Judicial Power through a coup that began on September 16 1955 and that, after more than two years, transferred the government to President-elect Arturo Frondizi, on May 1 1958, who would be overthrown in 1962.
The preparations for the coup of September 1955 were intense and very careful, since the plotters did not want to repeat the mistakes made in the events of June. For this coup, the collaboration of several important army units was finally obtained, in addition to the Navy and the Air Force.

"Revolución Libertadora" Volume 2 details the warlike actions of both sides day by day, along with the eventual resignation, exile and return of President Perón.

Francois, David: El Salvador. Band 1: Crisis, Coup and Uprising, 1970-1983 26,95 €

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:20:28 +0200

A severe social and political crisis in El Salvador during politicians, religious figures and activists through strikes but organised the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) and launched an armed insurrection against the government in early 1981.
Within months, the FMLN established itself in control over two departments - which it was to guerrillas support base in the countryside. Although bombardments, strafing, shelling, summary execution of anybody captured, and massacres of civilians became the norm of the day, the FMLN continued growing in strength and by 1983, reached the peak of its power and control over the countryside.

"El Salvador. Volume 1: Crisis, Coup and Uprising 1970-1983" is the first inclusive and incisive military history of this incredibly vicious, merciless war: one of two major conflicts fought in Central America during the 1980s within the context of the Cold War. Based on official documentation and carefully cross-referenced secondary sources, it is lavishly illustrated with original photographs and custom-drawn colour profiles and is an indispensable single-point source of reference.