THE TANKS: The History of the Royal Tank Regiment and its predecessors Heavy Branch Machine-Gun Corps, Tank Corps and Royal Tank Corps 1914-1945

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author to his editor and literary executor. Complete in two volumes. Original black cloth with silver titles to the spines, in dustwrappers. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographic plates and maps, several of which are fold-out. Very good copies, the bindings firm, the extremities lightly rubbed, the bottom edges of volume two with a few small bumps. There is some light spotting to the closed text block edges and endpapers, occasionally to the margins and maps, and there is some offsetting to the front free endpaper of volume two. The contents are otherwise clean and without previous owners' inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed, nicked and creased dustwrappers which have some spotting to the flaps and rear panels and a few tiny closed tears to the tips of the lightly faded spines. Not price-clipped (70/- on the front flaps). An excellent association copy.

Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper of volume one "For Kenneth Parker / in grateful appreciation of his most able / and active co-operation in the completion and /production of these volumes - the pleasure of / working with him was the most refreshing / part of a prolonged task / Basil Liddell Hart / States House / Medmenham / Marlow, Barks". At the time of presentation Kenneth Parker was chief editor at Cassell, he was a friend and later literary executor of the author. In the author's preface (page xiii), Liddell Hart acknowledges that Parker's "expert knowledge and judgement have been invaluable". Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (31 October 1895 – 29 January 1970) served in the British Army during World War I, where he was promoted to the rank of Captain and was sent to the Western Front three times before being sent out of the line after being severely gassed. He retired from the Army in 1927 and spent the rest of his career as a military historian and theorist. He was an advocate of mechanised warfare, armoured formations and 'the indirect approach', which he argued would reduce casualties. His early writings were admired by Neville Chamberlain, and when Chamberlain became prime minister in 1937 Liddell Hart gained an unofficial advisory role, regularly meeting with the Secretary of State for War and recommending changes which where important to the establishment of The Ministry of Defence, increased mechanisation of the Army and increased defence against air attacks. The present volumes, a fastidiously researched and extensive history spanning 25 years, were commissioned by The Royal Tank Regiment and took Liddell Hart 13 years to complete.