This book centres around the huge air battles which took place over Stalingrad between August and November 1942 and the subsequent airlift operation in the winter of 1942/43 intended to relieve the German Sixth Army which was by then trapped in Stalingrad. It also covers the air war during the Russian counter-offensive in early 1943 where the Luftwaffe played a major role in saving the whole German Eastern Front from collapsing. The book contains much eye-witness material and the text is accompanied by a large number of rare and previously unpublished photographs, biographical inserts on some of the leading figures in the struggle, data tables, technical assessments and appendices.

"We sailed for Canada in April 1945 on a Greek ship, the Nea Hellis. The crossing took three weeks all the while avoiding the torpedoes. There were over 1,000 war brides and children aboard as well as wounded soldiers going home." - Iris Rickets. 'Overpaid, over-sexed and over here' was the verdict of many British civilians of American and Canadian soldiers conscripted to Britain in the Second World War. Yet for thousands of young girls, the influx of handsome young military men meant flirting, 'walking out' - and falling in love. The result was over 48,000 hasty marriages to Canadian soldiers alone, and a mass emigration of British young women to northern America and across the globe in the 1940s. Historian Melynda Jarratt has painstakingly captured the incredible stories of young women - some say brave, some say foolish - who left their families and homes to move to a country thousands of miles away with a man they barely knew. Yet the ensuing decades brought happiness to many, and surviving women share their tales of love, family and starting again. For some brides, the outcome was a very different story, and the darker side of the crossings reveals astonishing accounts of infidelity, domestic violence, venereal disease and even bigamy. This incredible new history draws on archives, rare documents, medical records and key first-hand accounts to tell the amazing story of the war brides in their own words - and shows the love, passion, tragedy and spirit of adventure that thousands of British women experienced in a turbulent time.

This is the compelling story of the 10,000 German and Austrian nationals who fled Nazi persecution to join the British in their fight against Hitler during the Second World War. Most were Jews but a significant number were political opponents of the Nazi regime and so-called 'degenerate artists'. They arrived in Britain between 1933 and 1939, and at the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 became 'enemy aliens'. They volunteered to serve in the British forces, donned the King's uniform, swore allegiance to George VI and became affectionately known as 'the King's most loyal enemy aliens'. This compelling story includes previously unpublished interviews with veterans and an impressive selection of archive photographs, many of which are reproduced for the first time.

The rationing period during World War II is often described as a difficult time and yet also remembered nostalgically as a time of unity and good sacrifice. In fact, many of its rules and guidelines could still be applied today. "Make Do and Mend" focuses on clothes rationing, which was introduced in June 1940. With the nation's industrial output concentrated on the war effort, basic clothes were in short supply and high fashion was an unknown commodity. Adults were issued as little as 36 coupons a year to spend on clothes. But a man's suit could cost 22 coupons, a coat 16 and a lady's dress 11, so the need to recycle and be inventive with other materials became more and more necessary. The government issued the leaflets included in "Make Do and Mend" to advise on how best to avoid wasting valuable resources by recycling curtains into dresses and old sheets into underwear; in short how to 'make do and mend' rather than buying new clothes. Produced from original material held in archives, the leaflets are also a nostalgic showcase of 1940s' style, which makes them the perfect gift.