British Army handbook, 1939-1945

When war was declared in 1939, the British Army was very much the "cinderella" of the three armed services.

Its total strength was some 865,000 men with many of the 325,000 regular field force being spread far and wide across the British Empire.

The rest were mainly enthusiastic Territorials who were equipped with outdated weapons and equipment, together with newly called-up Militiamen and Special Reservists.This book aims to present a balanced and comprehensive picture of the British Army in wartime from the early days of the BEF, through the years of defeat and struggle in the early 1940s, culminating in the eventual Allied victory in 1945 in which the men and women of the British Army and their Commonwealth comrades played such an important part.This handbook gives full details of mobilization and training, higher organization and arms of the service; divisional organizations and non-divisional units; HQs and Staff; the combat arms and the services; the individual soldier, his weapons and equipment based on that used in 1944; tactics; weapons, vehicles and equipment; vehicle markings and camoflage; the ATS and other Womens' Corps.