It was May 1940, and Hitler stood on the cliffs at Calais and eyed up his conquest : England! There was a call to arms that saw the founding of the Home Guard, a motley collection of men, poorly armed, many too old to fight in the war. The Home Guard was untried in war, often without weapons or training, and they were Britain's last-ditch defence against the Germans. But all was not lost and, over the period of a few months, this rag-tag group was armed, uniformed and trained using the Home Guard Manual. Taught basic fieldcraft, how to survive in the open, how to destroy tanks, ambush the invaders, use weapons of varying sorts, make boobytraps, read maps and send signals, the fledgling volunteer was turned into a veritable fighting machine ... or was he just another member of 'Dad's Army"? Read the manual and find out.

Originally published 1941.

Ch. I. INTRODUCTION : 1. Objects of the manual -- 2. Role of the home guard -- 3. Organization - 4. Outline of training -- 5. Drill and discipline -- 6. Co-ordination with other organizations -- Ch. II. DRILL : 1. Squad drill -- 2. Arms drill -- 3. Platoon drill - 4. Company drill -- 5. Ceremonial -- 6. Field signals -- 7. Field drill - Ch. III. SMALL ARMS TRAINING I : GENERAL : 1. General -- 2. Indication -- 3. Judging distance -- 4. Fire orders -- 5. Anti-aircraft action -- Ch. IV. SMALL ARMS TRAINING II : The RIFLE : 1. Parts of the rifle -- 2. Care and mechanism -- 3. Loading - -4. Aiming -- 5. Firing -- Ch. V. SMALL ARMS TRAINING III : OTHER WEAPONS : 1. General -- 2. Bren gun -- 3. Lewis gun -- 4. Thompson sub-machine gun -- 5. Webley pistol -- 6. Shotgun -- 7. Service grendes -- 8. Home-made grenades -- 9. Mototov cocktails -- 10. Booby traps -- Ch. VI. FIELDCRAFT : 1. General instruction -- 2. Cover from view -- 3. Cover from fire -- 4. Camouflage -- 5. Movement by day -- 6. Movement by night -- 7. Stalking -- 8. Selection of fire positions -- Ch. VII. MAPPING and RECONNAISSANCE : 1. Maps available -- 2. Reading and use of maps -- 3. Prismatic compass -- 5. Field sketches -- 6. Enlarging -- 7. Reconnaissance reports -- 8. Intelligence -- Ch. VIII. FIELD ENGINEERING : 1. General considerations -- 2. A defensive system -- 3. Protective works -- 4. Obstacles -- 5. Explosives -- Ch. IX. SIGNALLING and MESSAGES : 1. Messages -- 2. Means of communication -- 3. Signaling drill - 4. Field signaling -- Ch. X. ELEMENTARY TACTICS : 1. Battle procedures -- 2. Sentries -- 3. Scouts -- 4. Patrols -- 5. Defence -- 6. Protection on the move -- 7. The attack -- 8. Ambush -- 9. Street fighting -- Ch. XI. TRANSPORT : 1. Constitution of transport section -- 2. Signals -- 3. Movement of troops by M.T. -- 4. Traffic control -- 5. Speed and density chart -- 6. Abbreviations -- 7. Conclusion -- Ch. XII. TRAINING : 1. Responsibility for training -- 2. Typical syllabus -- 3. Notes on methods of instruction -- 4. Points for N.C.O.'s -- 5. Advice to young officers and N.C.O.'s -- APPENDICES : 1. Sanitation and hygiene -- 2. Tank hunting and destruction -- 3. Sand table exercises -- 4. Appreciations and orders.