{"title":"Military Maps and Atlases","description":"This carefully curated collection of maps, atlases and battlefield guides illustrate military and naval battles and operations from Tudor times, through to the D-Day landings and Cold War.","products":[{"product_id":"forts","title":"Forts: An Illustrated History of Building for Defence","description":"\u003cspan\u003eEver since humans began to live together in settlements they have felt the need to organise some kind of defence against potentially hostile neighbours. Many of the earliest city states were built as walled towns, and during the medieval era, stone castles were built both as symbols of the defenders' strength and as protection against potential attack. The advent of cannon prompted fortifications to become lower, denser and more complex, and the forts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could appear like snowflakes in their complexity and beautiful geometry.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWithout forts, the history of America could have taken a very different course, pirates could have sailed the seas unchecked, and Britain itself could have been successfully invaded. This book explains the history of human fortifications, and is beautifully illustrated using photographs, plans, drawings and maps to explain why they were built, their various functions and their immense historical legacy in laying the foundations of empire.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":34074250936451,"sku":"9781472827630","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/products\/9781472827630.jpg?v=1610111698"},{"product_id":"holts-bfield-guide-ypres","title":"Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to Ypres Salient  and Passchendaele: 8th edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the most complete guide to the First World War Battlefield of Ypres that has ever been published. Tonie and Valmai Holt, have condensed the knowledge gained from almost a quarter of a century of researching, writing about, visiting and conducting groups around Ypres into this remarkable book.Here are concise descriptions of the military elements of the battles woven into a kaleidoscope of human, literary and travel information.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are recommended, timed itineraries, in each itinerary representing one day's travelling. Every stop on the routes has an accompanying description and often a tale of heroic or tragic action. Memorials large and small, private and official, sites of memorable conflict, the resting places of personalities of note - they are all here and joined together by a sympathetic and understanding commentary that gives the reader a sensitivity toward the events of 1914-1918 that can only be matched by visiting the battlefield itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a guide book written by people who, because they have been directly involved in taking tours themselves, know the form and type of information that best serves the visitor to the battlefield.This bargain-price edition is complete in every way but is slightly miscut resulting in uneven top and bottom margins and a fairly tight binding. In our opinion this does not detract from the readability or usefulness of the book.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pen \u0026 Sword","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":34074268369027,"sku":"9780850525519","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/files\/9780850525519.jpg?v=1695029283"},{"product_id":"holtswestern-front-north-4th","title":"Major and Mrs Holt's Definitive Battlefield Guide to Western Front North","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing in their best-selling series of Battlefield Guides this is a companion volume to the Holts Western Front South Guide. Between the two they cover the main WW1 Western Front battlefields. This book covers 15 of the most significant battles of the northern area from Nieuwport to just north of The Somme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhether travelling on the ground or in the mind, the reader is carefully guided through the battlefields with a mixture of succinct military history, cameo memories and stories of VCs and other personalities, interspersed with references to the literature and poetry of the war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis guidebook is based on Tonie and Valmai Holt's 30 years experience of researching, guiding tours and writing about the area, with their unique blend of male and female points of view. It is written to the high standards that have come to be expected of these highly respected authors who are credited with pioneering the modern battlefield tour and whose guide books are referred to as 'The Bibles' .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pen \u0026 Sword","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":34074268565635,"sku":"9781526746832","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/products\/9781526746832.jpg?v=1609945315"},{"product_id":"map-holts-market-garden","title":"Major and Mrs Holt's Battle Map of Market Garden","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn accompaniment to the best-selling guide to the area, This is the map only for more detail refer to the full Battlefield Guide \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/shop.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/products\/major-and-mrs-holts-battlefield-guide-operation-market-garden?_pos=3\u0026amp;_sid=4597495b6\u0026amp;_ss=r\" title=\"Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to Operation Market Garden\"\u003eMajor and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to Operation Market Garden. \u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pen \u0026 Sword","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":34074302546051,"sku":"9781526764980","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/products\/9781526764980.jpg?v=1609944081"},{"product_id":"visiting-the-normandy-invasion","title":"Visiting the Normandy Invasion Beaches and Battlefields: A Helpful Guidebook for Groups and Individuals","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis splendid and timely book will be invaluable to those visiting the battlefields, sites, museums, memorials and cemeteries of the D-Day Normandy landings. It is intended for those planning and leading school groups and similar parties but is also ideal for individual\/family visitors. Rather than list every site etc it provides realistic itineraries to the best places in the Normandy area. Even these are flexible to allow party leaders suitable discretion. The author provides helpful information for each site such as its context in the War, visitor orientation, the spiel (the essential facts to engage, inform and entertain), suggested activity and relevant photos and maps. This combines to make every visit of maximum benefit and interest and yet reduce the workload of the party leaders. There are also valuable tips for lunch breaks, free time ideas and other helpful pointers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pen \u0026 Sword","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":34074408648835,"sku":"9781473854321","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/products\/9781473854321.jpg?v=1609954408"},{"product_id":"major-and-mrs-holts-battle-map-of-ypres-and-passchendaele","title":"Major and Mrs Holt's Battle Map of Ypres and Passchendaele","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn accompaniment to the best-selling guide to the area, This is the map only for more detail refer to the full Battlefield Guide \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pen \u0026 Sword","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42921522364547,"sku":"9781526764959","price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/products\/9780951130032.jpg?v=1665156598"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0364\/6285\/4275\/collections\/MAPS_b10ec719-4f60-45bb-af6e-806d67d7545e.jpg?v=1622649279","url":"https:\/\/shop.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/collections\/military-maps\/him.oembed","provider":"The National Archives Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}