Modern Warfare

"In this companion volume to his photographic history of Soviet tanks and armoured vehicles, Anthony Tucker-Jones provides a visual guide to the vast array of aircraft, warships and missiles the Soviet armed forces deployed at the height of the Cold War. Although the superpowers never came to blows, the so-called 'Cold War' was far from cold, with numerous 'hot' proxy wars being fought in Africa and the Middle East. All these conflicts employed Soviet weaponry which has been captured in action in the colour and black-and-white photographs selected for this book. Between the 1950s and 1980s Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries churned out thousands of weapons ready for the Third World War. They also embarked on a technological arms race with NATO in an attempt to counter each new piece of equipment as it appeared. The MiG fighters, the Badger and Backfire bombers, the nuclear submarines have achieved almost iconic status, but, as Anthony Tucker-Jones's book shows, there was much more to the Soviet armoury than these famous weapons. Much of it, despite its age, remains in service with armies, guerrilla forces and terrorist organizations around the world today."

On 30 January 1968 the North Vietnamese communists launched a coordinated surprise attack the Tet Offensive across South Vietnam against the South Vietnamese and American armies. Superior firepower eventually crushed the offensive, but it proved to be a major psychological victory for the communists a turning point in the Vietnam War. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this photographic history of Tet and of American involvement in the struggle against the forces of the Viet Cong and the regular North Vietnamese army uses over 180 contemporary images, colour and black and white, to show all sides of the conflict and to reassess a defining moment in the protracted and bitter campaign against communism in South-East Asia. The images record in vivid detail the conditions and the nature of the fighting, in particular the battles for Hue, Khe Sanh and Saigon, and the equipment and the weaponry that was used. They show the impact of the fighting on the civilian population in the countryside and cities as they became battlegrounds. And they illustrate why the US public was so shocked by the capability of the communists to launch such an all-encompassing assault that many lost faith in America's commitment to the South.

The T-54, T-62 and T-72 main battle tanks along with the personnel carriers, assault guns, self-propelled guns and anti-tank missiles that are illustrated in this photographic history represent the high point in the design and manufacture of armoured vehicles by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Although the superpowers never came to blows, the 'Cold War' was far from cold, as numerous 'hot' proxy wars were fought in Africa and the Middle East, and these conflicts employed the Soviet weaponry that is shown in action in the colour and black-and-white photographs selected for this book. Between the 1950s and 1980s, Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries produced thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles ready for the Third World War. They embarked on a technological arms race with the NATO allies in an attempt to counter each new piece of equipment as it appeared in service. Much of this Soviet weaponry has achieved almost iconic status and, despite its age, remains in service with armies, guerrilla forces and terrorist organizations around the world today. It is also of enduring interest to collectors, re-enactors and modellers who are fascinated by the military equipment of the late twentieth century.