Ballantine Illustrated History of the World Wars

This series, in multiple sub-titled sets, was published variously by Ballantine, PAN and Purnell, using various "series titles" – so that our main library catalogue entries appear as:

Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century – Details of 65 bibliographic entries
Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II – Details of 49 bibliographic entries
Pan/Ballantine illustrated history of the First World War – Details of 5 bibliographic entries
Pan/Ballantine illustrated history of World War II – Details of 13 bibliographic entries
Purnell's history of the Second World War (Purnell/Ballantine) – Details of 6 bibliographic entries

These collected series (which sometimes overlap between publishers and re-impressions) can be regrouped as:

Battle books

#01 D-Day: Spearhead of Invasion by R.W. Thompson
#02 Their Finest Hour: The Story of the Battle of Britain by Edward Bishop
#03 Stalingrad: The Turning Point by Geoffrey Jukes
#04 Bastogne: The Road Block by Peter Elstob
#05 The Siege of Leningrad by Alan Wykes
#06 Battle For Berlin: End of the Third Reich by Earl F. Ziemke
#07 Kursk: The Clash of Armour by Geoffrey Jukes
#08 Tarawa: A Legend is Born by Henry I. Shaw,Jr
#09 Airborne Carpet: Operation Market Garden by Anthony Farrar-Hockley
#10 Pearl Harbor by A.J. Barker
#11 Leyte Gulf : Armada in the Pacific by Donald Macintrye
#12 Okinawa: Touchstone to Victory by Benis M. Frank
#13 The Defense of Moscow by Geoffrey Jukes
#14 Raid On St. Nazaire by David Mason
#15 Anzio: The Bid for Rome by Christopher Hibbert
#16 Cassino by Dominich Graham
#17 London's Burning by Constantine FitzGibbon
#17 (Purnell) Leyte Gulf by Donald Macintyre
#18 Kasserine: Baptism of Fire by Ward Rutherford
#19 Battle of the Reichswald by Peter Elstob
#20 Midway: The Turning Point by A.J. Barker
#21 Battle of the Ruhr Pocket by Charles Whiting
#22 Beda Fomm: the Classic Victory by Kenneth Macksey
#23 Bir Hakim: Desert Citadel by Richard Holmes
#24 Salerno by David Mason
#25 Armoured Onslaught: 8th August 1918 by Douglas Orgill
#26 Vimy Ridge: 1914-18 by Kenneth Macksey
#27 Rhine Crossing by James W. Stock
#28 Argonne 1918: the AEF in France by Barry Gregory
#29 Rotterdam: Invasion of Holland by Wilhelmina Steenbeek
#30 Ploesti: Oil Strike by John Sweetman
#31 Zeebrugge: 23 April 1918 by James W. Stock
#32 Iwo Jima by Michael Russell
#33 Dien Bien Phu by John Keegan

Campaign books

#01 Africa Korps by K.J. Macksey
#02 The Raiders: Desert Strike Force by Arthur Swinson
#03 Sicily: Whose Victory by Martin Blumenson
#04 Breakout: Drive to the Seine by David Mason
#05 Defeat in Malaya: the Fall of Singapore by Arthur Swinson
#06 France: Summer 1940 by John Williams
#07 Bomber Offensive:The Devastation of Europe by Noble Frankland
#08 The Nuremberg Rallies by Alan Wykes
#09 Japan: the Final Agony by Alvin Coox
#10 Liberation of the Philippines by Stanley Falk
#10 Normandy Bridgehead by H. Essame (Note: another no. 10?; not held)
#11 Barbarossa: Invasion of Russia 1941 by John Keegan
#13 New Guinea: the Tide is Stemmed by John Vader
#14 Guadalcanal: Island Ordeal by Graeme Kent
#15 New Georgia: Pattern For Victory by D.C. Horton
#16 Fall of the Philippines by Ward Rutherford
#18 Carpathian Disaster: Death of an Army by Geoffrey Jukes
#20 Tanganyikan Guerrilla: East African Campaign 1914-18 by Major J. K. Sibley
#22 Operation Torch: Anglo-American Invasion of North Africa by Vincent Jones
#23 Over the Hump: Airlift to China by William Koenig
#24 The Winter War: Russia Against Finland by Richard W. Condon
#25 Pacific Victory by Paul Kennedy
#26 Tobruk: the Siege by James W. Stock
#27 Six Day War by A.J. Barker
#28 Palaus: Bloodiest Victory, America's Pacific Offensive 1944 by Stanley Falk
#29 The Yom Kippur War by A. J. Barker
[not numbered] Pacific Onslaught: 7th Dec.1941/7th Feb.1943 by Paul kennedy

Weapons books

#01 U-Boat: the Secret Menace by David Mason
#02 Panzer Division: the Mailed Fist by K.J. Macksey
#03 Aircraft Carrier: the Majestic Weapon by Donald Macintyre
#04 Me 109 by Martin Caidin
#05 German Secret Weapons: Blueprint For Mars by Brian J. Ford
#06 Spitfire by John Vader
#07 Commando by Peter Young
#08 SS and Gestapo by Roger Manvell
#09 Zero Fighter by Martin Caidin
#10 Luftwaffe by Alfred Price
#11 The Guns 1939-45 by Ian V. Hogg
#12 Airborne by Charles MacDonald
#13 PT Boats by Bryan Cooper
#14 Pacific Hawk by John Ward
#15 Tank Force: Allied Armor in World War II by Kenneth Macksey
#16 Waffen SS: the Asphalt Soldiers by John Keegan
#17 B-29: The Superfotress by Carl Berger
#18 Barrage: the Guns In Action by Ian Hogg
#19 Allied Secret Weapons: the War of Science by Brian J. Ford
#20 Rocket Fighter by William Green
#21 T34: Russian Armor by Douglas Orgill
#22 Suicide Weapon by Alan Baker
#23 Hitler's High Seas Fleet by Richard Humble
#24 Mosquito: Wooden Wonder by Edward Bishop
#25 Infantry Weapons by John Weeks
#26 P-51: Bomber Escort by W.N. Hess
#27 The Guns; 1914-18 by Ian V. Hogg
#28 Trench Fighting; 1914-18 by Charles Messenger
#30 Lancaster Bomber by D.B. Tubbs
#31 Merrill's Marauders by Alan Baker
#32 German General Staff by Barry Leach
#33 Japanese High Seas Fleet by Richard Humble
#34 Chindits: Long Range Penetration by Michael Calvert
#35 Condor Legion by Peter Elstob
#36 Indestructible Jeep by D. Denfeld/M. Fry
#37 Grenades and Mortars by Ian Hogg
#38 Wellington Bomber by Edward Bishop
#39 Hitler's Bodyguards: SS Liebstandarte by Alan Wykes
#40 B-17 by W.N. Hess
#41 German Armor by Douglas Orgill
#42 Midget Submarine by James Gleason / Tom Waldron
#43 Gas by Ian Hogg
#44 Dc-3 by A. Pearcy
#? Allied Armor by K. Macksey
#? The Buccaneers by B. Cooper

Full colour special

#01 Nazi Regalia by Jack Pia

Human conflict

#01 Olympiad 1936: Blaze of Glory for Hitler's Reich by Judith Holmes
#02 Lidice: Sacrificial Village by John Bradley
#03 Death Railway by Clifford Kinvig
#04 Genocide: the Jews in Europe 1939-45 by Ward Rutherford
#05 Bloody Ulster by A.J. Barker

Politics in action

#01 The Conspirators: 20th July 1944 by Roger Manvell
#02 Blackshirts: Fascism In Britain by David Shermer
#03 Reichstag Fire: Ashes of Democracy by R. John Prichard
#04 The Rape of Ethiopia, 1935 by A.J. Barker
#05 Warsaw Rising by Gunther Deschner
#06 Hitler Youth: the Duped Generation by H.W. Koch
#07 The Night of the Long Knives by Nikolai Tolstoy
#08 Nuremberg Trials by Leo Kahn
#09 The Fight For the Freedom For Women by Rose Tremain
#10 Berlin Blockade by John Man

War leaders

#02 Macarthur by Sydney L. Mayer
#03 Hitler by Alan Wykes
#04 Stilwell by D.D. Rooney
#05 Bradley by Charles Whiting
#06 Mountbatten by Arthur Swinson
#07 Eisenhower by Martin Blumenson
#07 (Violent century) De gaulle by Phillipe Masson
#08 Goring by Roger Manvell
#10 Tito by Phyllis Auty
#11 Skorzeny by Charles Whiting
#12 Slim by Michael Calvert
#13 Mussolini by Chritopher Hibert
#14 Himmler by Alan Wykes
#15 Student by A.H. Farrar-Hockley
#16 Churchill by David Mason
#17 Goebbels by Alan Wykes
#18 Lawrence by Douglas Orgill
#19 MacArthur In Japan by Sydney L. Mayer
#20 Guderian by John Keegan
#21 Stauffenberg by G. S. Graber
#24 Yamashita by A.J. Barker
#25 Rundstedt by John Keegan
#26 Halsey by Benis M. Frank
#27 Rommel by J.R. Sibley/M. Fry
#28 Zhukov: Marshal of the Soviet Union by O. Chaney
#29 Montgomery by R. Thompson
#31 Stalin by Rose Tremain

Pan/Ballantine Illustrated History of the First World War

Book No 1 Opening Moves August 1914 by John Keegan
Book No 2 Trench Fighting 1914-18 by Charles Messenger
Book No 3 Carpathian disaster : death of an army by Geoffrey Jukes
Book No 4 Tanganyikan Guerrilla: East African Campaign 1914-18 by J.R. Sibley
Book No 5 The Guns 1914-18 by Ian V. Hogg [Note: also published as "Weapons Book" #27]
Book No 6 Vimy Ridge : 1914-1918 by Kenneth Macksey

Ballantine's "Silver" Books

Africa Corps by K.J. Macksey
Patton by Charles Whiting
Rocket Fighter by William Green
Their Finest Hour by Edward Bishop

An older bibliographic research page is available here; it is included for archival reasons only.