The United States has been developing space for many years, and satellites provide the US Military with an unparaleled advantage over its adversaries. Constellations of both military and civilian satellites provide protection and support for military operations; deliver ballistic missile early warning; supply reliable, secure and jam-proof communications; gather audio-visual intelligence; predict weather patterns; guide navigation; and deliver guided-weapons targeting, as well as a host of other missions. This book explores the design, development and usage of US military space systems, as well past and future threats to the systems. The current relevance of this topic to the international community as a whole is key, as space becomes the next, if only virtual, theater of warfare.

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 infantrymen, as well as their use of mines, field camouflage techniques, and construction tools. It provides a first fascinating insight into Russian defensive attempts against the overwhelming might of the German Army.</p>

In 1961 US Special Forces units began entering remote areas of Vietnam dominated by the Viet Cong. Their task was to organize local defense and strike forces aimed at stopping the enemy from gaining further control of such areas. The Green Berets set up fortified camps from which indigenous troops defended local villages and attacked and harassed the enemy. How these camps were constructed, developed, and defended is documented here for the first time. This book also covers the weapons, barriers, and obstacles used in these camps, providing specific examples of camp design, and details how they withstood the test of battle against a determined and resourceful enemy.

During the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong (VC) main forces and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were forced to hide weapons and supplies underground and to dig protective shelters to counter massive US firepower. Their field works defended villages, hidden base camps, and fortified complexes, and took the form of trench systems, individual fighting positions, crew-served weapon positions, bunkers, caches, and extensive tunnel complexes. Camouflage and deceptive measures, and the employment of obstacles and booby traps, went hand-in-hand with such works. This title takes a detailed look at the VC/NVA tunnel systems, field fortifications, base camps. and camouflage and concealment measures employed during the Vietnam conflict.

Following the Fall of France and the surrender of Paris on 14 June 1940, the British Government announced that the Channel Islands had no strategic importance and would not be defended. The Germans occupied the islands from the end of June onwards and remained in control until the end of the war. On 10 October 1941 Hitler announced his intention to 'convert them into an impregnable fortress', and the islands formed the most heavily fortified and defended section of the entire Atlantic Wall. This book describes the design, construction and manning of these defensive positions, as well as considering more widely the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans.

The Philippines were declared an American Territory on January 4, 1899, and fortification construction soon began on the islands in the mouth of Manila Bay. Among the sites built were Fort Mills (Corregidor), Fort Frank, and the formidable "concrete battleship" of Fort Drum. The defenses suffered constant Japanese bombardment during World War II, leading to the surrender of American forces. In 1945 the forts were manned by Japanese soldiers determined to hold out to the bitter end. This title details the fortifications of this key strategic location, and considers both their effectiveness and historical importance.

The Berlin Wall and the Inner-German Border (IGB) were built to halt the flow of refugees from East Germany to the West. From August 13, 1961, over 96 miles of crude fences and more sophisticated walls were erected around West Berlin. Border defenses ran 858 miles from the Baltic to the Czechoslovakian border, cutting villages in two, running through buildings, and intersecting roads and railways. Gordon L Rottman, who became familiar with both sides of the border while posted to Germany, examines the international situations that led to the creation of the Berlin Wall, discussing how the barrier systems functioned and their significance in the Cold War. Covering the erection of the barriers, how they evolved, defensive devices and the role of the checkpoints, this book also describes how ordinary people attempted to overcome these physical and political obstacles in their quest for freedom.
Gordon Rottman writes,"In 1980 I found myself in a long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) company. After 2 years of training we were assigned as the V Corps LRRP company: our mission in the event of a Soviet invasion of West Germany was to insert our 21 five-man reconnaissance teams inside East Germany, establish "hides" overlooking autobahns and other highways, and report the movements of the second operational echelon, the follow-on forces behind the initial assault forces. This required us to know a great deal about what it was like inside East Germany. We began an intense study of the IGB, and in the process I was able to visit the border, learn its ways, and find out how to penetrate it."

In 1943, Hitler ordered his forces to occupy the Italian mainland to protect the Third Reich's 'soft underbelly'. After the successfulthe Allied landings in Salerno, the Germans fought a series of hard, rearguard actions as the Allies slowly pushed north up the Apennines towards the Alps. These actions were based around the construction of a series of defensive lines: the Winter Line, the Gustav Line, the Hitler Line, the Caesar Line, the Gothic Line and the Voralpenstellung. This book explores the development and form of the six defensive lines constructed by the paramilitary Organisation Todt in Italy, examining the principles of defence of these key fortifications in visual depth, and discussing their fate in the wake of the Allied onslaught.

The West Wall (or the Siegfried Line as the Allies called it) played a crucial role in the bitter fighting of 1944 and 1945 in North-West Europe. Constructed in the period immediately after the remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, the Wall stretched for 300 miles from Cleve in the north to the Swiss Border and consisted of some 14,000 pillboxes. The Wall initially blunted the US attack, and Hitler used it as a foundation from which to launch the Ardennes Offensive. This title takes a detailed look at the development and form of this key fortification, examining the principles of its defence in visual depth, and discussing its fate in the wake of the Allied onslaught.

In the course of the Peninsular War, Wellington’s army fought several hard battles and smaller actions, but it was the bloody sieges that troubled him more than anything else. Indeed, the performance of his army during the sieges was probably the most disappointing aspect of what was otherwise an extremely successful campaign. Taking 1808 as its starting point, this title deals with the fortress sieges that involved Wellington’s AngloPortuguese army, and concentrates on four key sites in particular (Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Burgos and San Sebastián). All of these played a vital role in the war due to their strategically important positions. It documents both the sieges and the storming of the fortresses, as well as the general role of the fortresses in Spain and the impact they had on the thinking of the commanders and strategies of the armies involved.

In the summer of 1940, Britain asked itself not 'will Hitler invade?' but 'when?' SEALION, the German invasion plan, provoked the construction of pillboxes, coastal defences, heavy-gun emplacements and anti-aircraft batteries, as well as the formation of the Home Guard and covert groups. Later, new dangers replaced SEALION: radar detection systems were expanded during the Blitz years, as were intelligence-gathering systems and listening posts. From 1944, Britain was again faced with a deadly threat, Hitler's 'Vengeance weapons'. This title provides a concise assessment of Britain's defensive systems, and presents a vivid picture of war on the home front.

In 1942, with Germany's gradual loss of the strategic initiative to the Allies, Hitler was forced to construct an impenetrable wall of fortifications along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. However, Hitler's grandiose Atlantic wall scheme was hampered by the realities of Germany's wartime economy. Without the resources and manpower to fortify the entire coast, the emphasis was placed on the great festung ports, the likely location of an Allied amphibious landing.
This first volume in a series of three deals solely with the structures on the French Atlantic coast starting with the Pas de Calais and extending down to Spain. Featuring detailed illustrations and diagrams of the various sections of the Atlantic Wall and the role that they played, it gives an insightful analysis into some of the most accessible fortifications of World War II.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the military importance of the Hawaiian Islands became clear. Oahu in particular was a key bastion in projecting America's military power in the Pacific. This importance would lead the island to becoming a military fortress - and also the site of one of America's greatest defensive failures, the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941. By the end of World War II, the harbor itself was the most heavily defended in the world, earning the sobriquet "Fortress Oahu". This title documents the development of these complex and integrated systems, and analyses the success of the infamous Japanese attack in the light of their knowledge of the island's defenses.