The RPG-series of weapons is the most widely used family of lightweight antitank weapons in the world today. RPGs have been used not only against their intended targets, but against personnel, fortifications, buildings, soft-skin vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. Lightweight, relatively compact, easy to operate and maintain, they meet most of the requirements of any armed group. Like any weapon system, RPGs and their ammunition have their limitations. While these limitations are much touted by proponents of more advanced weapons, they lose sight of many armed groups' requirement for lightweight, compact, inexpensive, easy to operate and maintain weapons. Most sophisticated weapons tend to...

The Kalashnikov AK-47 is the most ubiquitous assault rifle in the world, with more AK-47s and its variants in use than any other individual small arm. Created by Senior Sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov, and first adopted by the USSR soon after World War II, its production continues to this day, with an estimated 75 million produced worldwide. This book takes a look at the complete history of the weapon, discussing its design, development, and usage, taking its story from the great armies of the Soviet Union to the insurgents and criminal gangs that often employ the weapon today.

From June 1941, the Soviets were forced to undertake large-scale defensive operations in the face of the overwhelming German blitzkrieg assault, operations which ran counter to their preference for highly mobile, offensive warfare. Lessons were quickly learned across a wide variety of terrain and climates, including the open steppes, dense forests, wooded swamps, cities, and in snow and ice, where the availability of construction materials differed greatly. The first to cover this topic in the English language and containing detailed information about the trenches, bunkers, observation posts and weapon positions, this book examines field fortifications built from local materials by...

The German Army of World War II considered itself an offensive, mobile force. The experiences in the trenches in World War I had done much to shape its concept of field fortification, and its mobile warfare ethos was intended to prevent the previous war's stalemate. This book addresses frontline defensive field fortifications, built by infantrymen using local materials, and includes rifle platoon positions, trenches, crew-served weapon positions, bunkers, dugouts, shelters and more. It also covers anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacles, as well as field camouflage methods and construction methods. The integration of these positions into permanent systems and theatre-specific defences are...

Немецкое снаряжение было относительно лёгким, прочным, хорошо продуманным, функциональным и обычно хорошего качества, которое, впрочем, снизилось в последние годы войны. Подавляющее количество снаряжения было подогнано под единый стандарт и могло использоваться в разных комбинациях, хотя материалы и цвета зачастую сильно рознились. В уникальной книге Г. Роттмана содержится подробное описание предметов экипировки солдат сухопутных войск Германии во время Второй мировой войны. Детально описаны малейшие изменения, вносившиеся в различные виды снаряжения на протяжении военных лет. Текст сопровождается уникальными фотографиями. Цветные иллюстрации подготовлены на основании документов военного...