Infantry Tactics of the Second World War

Infantry Tactics of the Second World War PDF

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Published: 2008-07-22

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781846032820

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Regardless of technological and doctrinal advances, final mastery of any battlefield ultimately depends upon the tight-knit group of soldiers trained to direct fire, move, take ground and hold it. This book examines the infantry combat methods of World War II. It draws on the training manuals of the time and first-hand accounts of frontline action and covers the organization and tactics of squad, platoon, company and battalion. It identifies the differences between German, American, British and Japanese approaches and demonstrates how these evolved in the face of changes in the battlefield environment. Motorized infantry tactics are also covered together with each army's responses to the continuously growing challenge and shifting patterns of anti-tank combat and combined operations with armor.

World War II Infantry Tactics

World War II Infantry Tactics PDF

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-05-27

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 1472852753

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Despite all technological advances, final mastery of any battlefield depends upon the tight-knit group of footsoldiers trained to manoeuvre, shoot and dig in. This first of a two-part study examines the methods by which the Western infantry of World War II - the German, British and US armies - actually brought their firepower to bear. Drawing upon period training manuals for the evolving theory, and on personal memoirs for the individual practice, this first book covers the organization and tactics of the squad of ten or a dozen men, and the platoon of three or four squads. The text is illustrated with contemporary photographs and diagrams, and with colour plates bringing to life the movement of soldiers on the battlefield.

World War II Infantry Tactics

World War II Infantry Tactics PDF

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-05-27

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 147285277X

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Despite all technological advances, final mastery of any battlefield depends upon the tight-knit group of footsoldiers trained to manoeuvre, shoot and dig in. This first of a two-part study examines the methods by which the Western infantry of World War II - the German, British and US armies - actually brought their firepower to bear. Drawing upon period training manuals for the evolving theory, and on personal memoirs for the individual practice, this first book covers the organization and tactics of the squad of ten or a dozen men, and the platoon of three or four squads. The text is illustrated with contemporary photographs and diagrams, and with colour plates bringing to life the movement of soldiers on the battlefield.

World War II Infantry Assault Tactics

World War II Infantry Assault Tactics PDF

Author: Gordon L. Rottman

Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Published: 2008-03-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781846031915

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Osprey's examination of assault tactics used by the infantry during World War II (1939-1945). Just about every war movie - famously, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers - includes dramatic scenes of soldiers trying to attack an enemy pillbox or trench. Continuing the series explaining World War II tactics, Gordon L Rottman (who became expert in these tactics during the Vietnam War) explains and illustrates the kit and techniques used in assaulting fortifications. He covers the differences in US, British, German, Soviet and Japanese approaches and experiences, concentrating on small units of foot soldiers with hand-carried equipment. The weapons used included the purpose-made and the improvized: assault charges of various shapes, sizes and characteristics, flamethrowers, grenades and bazookas. Their tactical deployment is analyzed and explained in detail, with the support of color artwork, maps, diagrams and photographs.

World War II US Armored Infantry Tactics

World War II US Armored Infantry Tactics PDF

Author: Gordon L. Rottman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2011-09-20

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13: 1780960832

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Little has been published on US armored infantry units and tactics over the years. However, their contribution to the war effort was hugely important. There were a total of 57 armored infantry battalions and two regiments that served throughout the war and in all theaters. Equipped with halftracks, they fought as part of combined arms teams and combat commands alongside tanks, tank destroyers and artillery battalions. Significantly, they were not simply standard infantry battalions provided with halftracks. Their company and platoon organization was very different from the standard infantry unit and these highly mobile, heavily armed battalions fought in an entirely different manner. Using period training manuals and combat reports this book provides an exclusive look at the unique tactics developed by US armored infantry units including movement formations and battle drills.

World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics

World War II Infantry Anti-Tank Tactics PDF

Author: Gordon L. Rottman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-08-20

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 1472805186

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The battlefield interaction between infantry and tanks was central to combat on most fronts in World War II. The first 'Blitzkrieg' campaigns saw the tank achieve a new dominance. New infantry tactics and weapons – some of them desperately dangerous – had to be adopted, while the armies raced to develop more powerful anti-tank guns and new light weapons. By 1945, a new generation of revolutionary shoulder-fired AT weapons was in widespread use. This book explains in detail the shifting patterns of anti-tank combat, illustrated with photographs, diagrams and colour plates showing how weapons were actually employed on the battlefield.

World War II Street-Fighting Tactics

World War II Street-Fighting Tactics PDF

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-12-20

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 1846037751

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In a continuation of the tactics mini-series, this book analyzes the physical tactics of the close-quarter fighting that took place in ruined cities during World War II. Street-to-street fighting in cities was not a new development, but the bombed-out shells of cities and advances in weaponry meant that World War II took such strategies to a new level of savagery and violence. Packed with eye-witness accounts, tutorials from original training manuals, maps, and full-colour artwork, this is an eye-opening insight into the tactics and experiences of infantry fighting their way through ruined cities in the face of heavy casualty rates and vicious resistance.

World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics

World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics PDF

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-08-20

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1472805275

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This book describes and illustrates, in fascinating detail, the slow and painful learning curve followed by the Allies in the mid-war years as they attempted to end the Japanese stranglehold on Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Based on the actual wartime training documents and front-line memoirs, it shows how the British, Australian and US armies transformed their tactics, attitudes and equipment to master the art of jungle warfare. In 1944-45 the Allies finally conquered the jungle environment, exploiting their new strengths and their enemy's weaknesses, to win crushing victories in Burma and on the Pacific islands.

Second World War Infantry Tactics

Second World War Infantry Tactics PDF

Author: Stephen Bull

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2012-07-19

Total Pages: 519

ISBN-13: 178159810X

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This wide-ranging military study examines WWII infantry tactics and operations on both sides through the battlefields of Europe. The dirty and dangerous frontlines of World War II belonged to the men who fought in the infantry. Yet the history of infantry tactics is too rarely studied and often misunderstood. Stephen Bull corrects this oversight with an in-depth account of infantry theory and combat experience, covering the British, German, and American Armies in the European theater of operations. Bull’s close analysis of the rules of engagement, the tactical manuals, the training, and the equipment is balanced by vivid descriptions of the tactics as they were tested in action. These operational examples show how infantry tactics on all sides developed as the war progressed, and they give a telling insight into the realities of infantry warfare.

World War II River Assault Tactics

World War II River Assault Tactics PDF

Author: Gordon L. Rottman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-09-20

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 1780961103

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On the major European and Russian fronts throughout World War II, the challenge of crossing rivers under fire was absolutely central to any advance. The Panzers that crossed the Meuse at Sedan in May 1940 cut the French Army in two. The Wehrmacht's ability to cross the great rivers of the western USSR was vital to the lightning advances of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and in 1943–45 the Red Army had to drive the Germans back from a succession of river lines during their advance to the Reich, culminating in the Vistula and Oder lines. With World War II armies dependent on heavy mechanized equipment, the function which rivers played became essential for soldiers in all sides of the war. World War II River Assault Tactics details the methods, means and analysis of specific successes and failures. Featuring a wealth of wartime photos, particularly from German sources, and full-colour plates illustrating tactical scenarios, the subject is brought to life.