Much has been written of the titanic clashes between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army at Stalingrad, but this volume tells the other, equally important half of the story of Fall Blau (Case Blue). Learning from their experiences during the sweeping advances of Operation Barbarossa a year before, Wehrmacht commanders knew that Nazi Germany's lack of oil was a huge strategic problem. Seizure of the Caucasus oilfields, which were responsible for 82% of the Soviet Union's crude oil, would simultaneously alleviate the German army's oil shortages whilst denying vital fuel resources to the Red Army....
Much has been written of the titanic clashes between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army at Stalingrad, but this volume tells the other, equally important ...
Against the wishes of Hitler, German forces under Erich von Manstein were forced to retreat following the failure of their offensive at Kursk in July 1943. The weakened force had only one possible refuge, behind the wide Dnepr River. The race to the natural defensive line was on, with the Soviets launching one of their largest offensives of the war--with over two million men on the move.
Expert Eastern Front historian Robert Forczyk describes the dramatic four-month campaign that saw the Red Army not only succeed in crossing the Dnepr at multiple points, but also liberate Kiev, the...
Against the wishes of Hitler, German forces under Erich von Manstein were forced to retreat following the failure of their offensive at Kursk in Ju...
As the final month of fighting in Europe in 1945 dawned, the Allies embarked upon a series of mopping-up operations, destroying the last centers of German resistance as the essentially defeated Wehrmacht fought on in increasingly desperate conditions, driven by the explicit no-surrender order issued by Hitler.
Yet at the same time, the Allies were already on shaky ground--as German resistance was crushed, the Allies began to eye one another nervously across a battle-torn Europe. These politically driven military decisions would have a huge impact on the future of the continent....
As the final month of fighting in Europe in 1945 dawned, the Allies embarked upon a series of mopping-up operations, destroying the last centers of...
With Germany being pushed back across Europe, the Allied forces looked to press their advantage with Operation Market-Garden, a massive airborne assault that, if successful, could have shortened the war in the West considerably. The ground advance consisted of an armored thrust by the British XXX Corps, while the US 82nd and 101st US Airborne Divisions secured the bridges at Eindhoven and Nijmegen, and the British 1st Airborne Division and Polish 1st Airborne Brigade were tasked with seizing the final bridge at Arnhem to secure the route. What they did not realize was that the 9. SS and...
With Germany being pushed back across Europe, the Allied forces looked to press their advantage with Operation Market-Garden, a massive airborne as...
World War I was the Golden Age of the railway gun. More railway artillery pieces were used during this war than in any other conflict, even though at the start of the war none of the armies had railway guns and the very idea of railway artillery was comparatively new. The impetus to build and field railway-mounted guns came from the stalemate of trench warfare. The first railway guns--fielded by the French army in early 1915--were simple, improvised designs made by mounting surplus coastal defense, fortress, and naval guns onto existing commercial railway carriages. These first guns were...
World War I was the Golden Age of the railway gun. More railway artillery pieces were used during this war than in any other conflict, even though ...
Following the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, the First US Army engaged in a six-week struggle to break out of the Normandy beach-head. The hedgerow country of lower Normandy, called the Bocage, presented unanticipated tactical problems since it proved to be ideal for German infantry defense.
This book examines the brutal attritional struggle in June-July 1944 to overcome the determined German defense and secure St Lo. The city was the site of a crucial cross-roads and was thus a vital target for the invading Allied forces; the initial bombing attacks were so severe that the writer...
Following the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, the First US Army engaged in a six-week struggle to break out of the Normandy beach-head. The hedgero...