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Saturday 25 July 2020

An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of World War II

Every so often, Amazon sends me book recommendation – sometimes for books that I have written! – and I usually have a look at them, but rarely buy any of them. On this occasion the book they recommended was AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNIFORMS OF WORLD WAR II: AN EXPERT GUIDE TO THE UNIFORMS OF BRITAIN, AMERICA, GERMANY, USSR AND JAPAN, TOGETHER WITH OTHER AXIS AND ALLIED FORCES, and as I am in the midst of a World War Two project and had some spare cash, I bought a copy.


The book is split into seven chapters, each of which is divided in several sections:
  • Introduction
    • Coming of War
    • War in the West
    • War in the East
    • The Aftermath
    • Timeline 1922-1945
  • The British Empire
    • Britain at War
    • Britain’s Armed Forces
    • Generals and Staff
    • Infantry
    • Cavalry
    • Artillery and Technical Troops
    • Armoured Troops
    • Commandos and Special Forces
    • Paratroops
    • The Royal Air Force
    • Foreign Volunteers
    • Canadian Troops
    • Australian and New Zealand Troops
    • African troops
    • Indian Troops
  • The United States
    • America prepares for conflict
    • The US enters a global war
    • Generals and Staff
    • Infantry
    • Cavalry
    • Artillery
    • Engineers and Technical Troops
    • Armoured Troops
    • Rangers and Special Forces
    • Marines
    • Paratroops
    • Air Force
  • Germany
    • The Nazis and the Army
    • From Victory to Defeat
    • Generals and Staff
    • Infantry
    • Africa Corps
    • The SS
    • SS Foreign Volunteers
    • Cavalry
    • Artillery and Engineers
    • Panzer Troops
    • Mountain Troops
    • Paratroops
    • Luftwaffe Field Divisions
    • The Luftwaffe
    • The Soviet Union
  • The Red Army
    • Hard Lessons
    • Generals
    • NKVD
    • Infantry
    • Foreign Troops
    • Cavalry
    • Cossacks
    • Artillery
    • Engineers
    • Armoured Troops
    • Marine Infantry
    • Paratroops
    • Air Force
  • Other Allied Powers
    • Allies, Great and Small
    • Belgium
    • China
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Greece
    • Netherlands
    • Norway
    • Poland
    • Yugoslavia
  • Other Axis Powers
    • Germany’s Allies
    • Bulgaria
    • Croatia
    • Finland
    • France – Vichy
    • Hungary
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Romania
    • Slovakia
The book also contains a glossary and an index, and is 256 pages long. There are numerous colour illustrations of a selection of the uniforms worn by most of the armed forces of the nations that took part in World War II (there are a few exceptions), and it is a good reference book for someone like me who is always looking for a slightly different uniform in which to paint some of their wargame figures.

AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNIFORMS OF WORLD WAR II: AN EXPERT GUIDE TO THE UNIFORMS OF BRITAIN, AMERICA, GERMANY, USSR AND JAPAN, TOGETHER WITH OTHER AXIS AND ALLIED FORCES was written by Jonathan North and published in 2016 by Lorenz Books (ISBN 978 0 7548 2988 1).

10 comments:

  1. I have a similar book although somewhat older, that is really useful as an overall guide, especially for the minor nations or more obscure units. Not as detailed as an Osprey book but far, far cheaper.

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    Replies
    1. Steve J.,

      This was about the same price as two Osprey MEN AT ARMS books, which I thought made it reasonable value, even though the level of detail is less.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. I have now collected over the last year or two all six of these: The Ancients / Roman World one, AWI, Napoleonic, 19th Century, WW1 and WW2. I find them very useful such as getting an idea for Marine Infantry using cheap Pound Store plastics.
    https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/tell-that-to-the-pound-store-plastic-marines/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark, Man of Tin,

      I have the 19th Century one, and have often consulted it for Uniform ideas. They are a good, basic reference guide, and are reasonably priced to boot.

      I’ve been very impressed by your Pound Store armies, which show what one can do with a limited budget and a lot of imagination.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. Thanks Bob. The historical uniform books are oddly very good for inspiring ImagiNations armies.

      Delete
    3. Mark, Man of Tin,

      Cheers! Some of the more unusual uniforms are quite inspiring.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. The AWI book is really worth getting.

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  4. Hi Bob,
    This WW2 Book looks just the thing to observe all the Uniforms - an extensive list and glad to see it is covering the Netherlands and Norway. Cheers. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson (Kev),

      Some of the minor countries - like Hungary and Romania - will be appearing in my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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