Campaigns of World War II Day by Day

Campaigns of World War II Day by Day PDF

Author: Chris Bishop

Publisher: B.E.S. Publishing

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780764156717

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Comprehensive coverage of all the main action in World War II. Chronologies give a blow-by-blow account of how the war progressed. Chronicles events across Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific--from the Nazi invasion of Poland to the Battle for Okinawa. Ilustrated with action photographs and detailed full-color maps throughout.

German Infantry in World War II

German Infantry in World War II PDF

Author: Chris Bishop

Publisher: Zenith Press

Published: 2008-03-15

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9780760331873

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Tanks and infantry working together made the German blitzkrieg as successful as it was. This book focuses closely on the infantry component of that powerful alliance, showing German infantry warfare as it evolved as such a powerful force beginning in 1939, only to fail and face defeat in 1945. German Infantry in World War II examines the organization and strength of the German infantry forces that took part in each major German campaign launched during the war, from the first thrust into Poland through the Bulge to the last stand, the Battle for Berlin. In particular, veteran military historian Chris Bishop describes the great sieges: Stalingrad, Leningrad, Sebastopol, Budapest, and Berlin. He details the infantry forces used during each campaign, giving strengths and orders of battle for the formations involved, along with maps of the action and an assessment of the role of the infantry forces in each offensive. Illustrated with photographs of the infantry forces in action, as well as detailed campaign maps, this book is an essential resource for anyone with an interest in the history of World War II in Europe.

Death of the Wehrmacht

Death of the Wehrmacht PDF

Author: Robert M. Citino

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2007-10-22

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 0700617914

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

For Hitler and the German military, 1942 was a key turning point of World War II, as an overstretched but still lethal Wehrmacht replaced brilliant victories and huge territorial gains with stalemates and strategic retreats. In this major reevaluation of that crucial year, Robert Citino shows that the German army's emerging woes were rooted as much in its addiction to the "war of movement"-attempts to smash the enemy in "short and lively" campaigns-as they were in Hitler's deeply flawed management of the war. From the overwhelming operational victories at Kerch and Kharkov in May to the catastrophic defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad, Death of the Wehrmacht offers an eye-opening new view of that decisive year. Building upon his widely respected critique in The German Way of War, Citino shows how the campaigns of 1942 fit within the centuries-old patterns of Prussian/German warmaking and ultimately doomed Hitler's expansionist ambitions. He examines every major campaign and battle in the Russian and North African theaters throughout the year to assess how a military geared to quick and decisive victories coped when the tide turned against it. Citino also reconstructs the German generals' view of the war and illuminates the multiple contingencies that might have produced more favorable results. In addition, he cites the fatal extreme aggressiveness of German commanders like Erwin Rommel and assesses how the German system of command and its commitment to the "independence of subordinate commanders" suffered under the thumb of Hitler and chief of staff General Franz Halder. More than the turning point of a war, 1942 marked the death of a very old and traditional pattern of warmaking, with the classic "German way of war" unable to meet the challenges of the twentieth century. Blending masterly research with a gripping narrative, Citino's remarkable work provides a fresh and revealing look at how one of history's most powerful armies began to founder in its quest for world domination.

German Panzers in WW II

German Panzers in WW II PDF

Author: Chris Bishop

Publisher: History PressLtd

Published: 2007-11-09

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9781862274419

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A highly illustrated and essential reference guide organized by campaigns within each theatre.

Bombs Away!

Bombs Away! PDF

Author: John R. Bruning

Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA

Published: 2011-05-22

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1610602595

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Bombs Away! covers strategic bombing in Europe during World War II, that is, all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature which took place between 1939 and 1945. In addition to American (U.S. Army Air Forces) and British (RAF Bomber Command) strategic aerial campaigns against Germany, this book covers German use of strategic bombing during the Nazi’s conquest of Europe: the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, and the V 1 and V 2, where the Luftwaffe targeted Warsaw and Rotterdam (known as the Rotterdam Blitz). In addition, the book covers the blitzes against London and the bombing of other British industrial and port cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Southampton, Manchester, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff, and Coventry bombed during the Battle of Britain. The twin Allied campaigns against Germany—the USAAF by day, the RAF by night—built up into massive bombing of German industrial areas, notably the Ruhr, followed by attacks directly on cities such as Hamburg, Kassel, Pforzheim, Mainz, Cologne, Bremen, Essen, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Dortmund, Frankfurt, and the still controversial fire-bombing of Hamburg and Dresden. In addition to obvious targets like aircraft and tank manufacturers, ball bearing factories and plants that manufactured abrasives and grinding wheels were high priority targets. Petroleum refineries were a key target with USAAF aircraft based in North Africa and later Italy, bombing the massive refinery complexes in and around Ploesti, Romania, until August 1944 when the Soviet Red Army captured the area. Other missions included industrial targets in southern Germany like Regensburg and Schweinfurt. Missions to the Nazi capital, Berlin, started in 1940 and continued through March 1945. Throughout the war there were 314 air raids on Berlin. All of this is covered in detail with authoritative text and hundreds of archival photographs, many rare or never before published.

Germany's Lightning War

Germany's Lightning War PDF

Author: Adrian Gilbert

Publisher: Motorbooks International

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Germany's campaigns in Poland, Norway, the Low Countries, France, and North Africa from 1939 to 1942 ushered in a new era of warfare during which the practice of Blitzkrieg, or Lightning War, was employed with devastating effect. This authoritative text is complemented by full-color maps explaining the movement of German forces and color artwork depicting Wehrmacht uniforms and the armored fighting vehicles, aircraft, and naval vessels that took part in the campaign. In addition, specification tables accompany all drawings of the hardware. Sidebars offer insight to the famous commanders who directed the campaigns -- Rommel, Rundstedt, and Student, for example -- while detailed appendices contain essential information on specific battles, German losses, and equipment.

The Wehrmacht's Last Stand

The Wehrmacht's Last Stand PDF

Author: Robert M. Citino

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2020-07-09

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 0700630384

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

By 1943, the war was lost, and most German officers knew it. Three quarters of a century later, the question persists: What kept the German army going in an increasingly hopeless situation? Where some historians have found explanations in the power of Hitler or the role of ideology, Robert M. Citino, the world’s leading scholar on the subject, posits a more straightforward solution: Bewegungskrieg, the way of war cultivated by the Germans over the course of history. In this gripping account of German military campaigns during the final phase of World War II, Citino charts the inevitable path by which Bewegungskrieg, or a “war of movement,” inexorably led to Nazi Germany’s defeat. The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand analyzes the German Totenritt, or “death ride,” from January 1944—with simultaneous Allied offensives at Anzio and Ukraine—until May 1945, the collapse of the Wehrmacht in the field, and the Soviet storming of Berlin. In clear and compelling prose, and bringing extensive reading of the German-language literature to bear, Citino focuses on the German view of these campaigns. Often very different from the Allied perspective, this approach allows for a more nuanced and far-reaching understanding of the last battles of the Wehrmacht than any now available. With Citino’s previous volumes, Death of the Wehrmacht and The Wehrmacht Retreats, The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand completes a uniquely comprehensive picture of the German army’s strategy, operations, and performance against the Allies in World War II.