Rare memoir of a risky job performed by relatively few troopsHonest and observant narrative describes the good, bad, and ugly of the warCovers World War II's closing months in eastern France and GermanyCpl. Bill Hanford had one of the U.S. Army's most dangerous jobs in World War II: artillery forward observer (FO). Tasked with calling in heavy fire on the enemy, FOs accompanied infantrymen into combat, crawled into no-man's-land, and ascended observation posts like hills and ridges to find their targets. But beyond the usual perils of ground combat, FOs were specially targeted by the enemy...

After storming the beaches on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allied invasion of France bogged down in seven weeks of grueling attrition in Normandy. On July 25, U.S. divisions under Gen. Omar Bradley launched Operation Cobra, an attempt to break out of the hedgerows and begin a war of movement across France. Despite a disastrous start, with misdropped bombs killing hundreds of GIs, Cobra proved to be one of the most pivotal battles of World War II, successfully breaking the stalemate in Normandy and clearing a path into occupied France.

The Normandy campaign from the German perspective Covers D-Day, Villers-Bocage, Cherbourg, St. Lo, Caen, Avranches, and other battles in hedgerow country Erwin Rommel, Michael Wittmann, and Kurt Meyer appear Drawing on letters, diaries, firsthand accounts, and official documents, The Germans in Normandy paints a vivid and frequently horrific picture of life for the men who held Hitler's vaunted Atlantic Wall when the Allies invaded France in June 1944 and who put up a bitter but ultimately hopeless defense throughout that summer. These are the German soldiers who manned the pillboxes on Omaha...

The vicious conflict (1964-79) that brought Robert Mugabe to power in Zimbabwe Expert coverage of the war, its historical context, and its aftermath Descriptions of guerrilla warfare, counterinsurgency operations, and actions by units like Grey's Scouts Amid the colonial upheaval of the 1960s, Britain urged its colony in Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) to grant its black residents a greater role in governing the territory. The white-minority government refused and soon declared its independence, a move bitterly opposed by the black majority. The result was the Rhodesian Bush War,...

Compelling account of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union The Soviets expected to crush Finnish forces in mere days, but the Finns broke the Red Army's advance and held out for almost four months Authentic depiction of frontline fighting in the harshest of conditions Based on eyewitness testimony, war diaries, battle reports, and other records

Myth-busting account of the summer of 1943 on the Eastern Front, one of World War II's turning pointsIncludes the Battle of KurskSpecial focus on the notorious 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf"

A mix of exceptionally rare and discerning essays. --The Great War MagazineSix first-personaccounts by German generalsCovers the Battle of Britain, Moscow, El Alamein, Stalingrad, D-Day and the Normandy Campaign, and the Battle of the BulgeDrawn from extensive interviews conducted immediately after the war

Black is the dean of Ranger history. --Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author Follows a legendary unit of American fighting men from D-Day through the end of World War II The Rangers' actions were depicted in the movie Saving Private Ryan"

These are the stories Vietnam vets tell each other at reunions and over beers. Episodes of valor, hardship, humor, and everything in between from more than forty veterans of the Vietnam War Covers all branches of service and all areas of operation in Southeast Asia"

Classic story of the 47,000 Spaniards who fought for the Third Reich in World War II. Vivid chronicle of the division of Spanish volunteers who battled the Soviets on the Eastern Front Centerpiece of their service was the Siege of Leningrad, which is covered in depth here Details on how Spanish dictator Francisco Franco negotiated his countrymen's participation"