In July 1944 of World War II (1939-1945), Operation Cobra broke the stalemate in Normandy and sent the Allies racing across France. The Allied commanders ignored Paris in their planning for this campaign, considering that the risk of intense street fighting and heavy casualties outweighed the city's strategic importance. However, Charles de Gaulle persuaded the Allied commanders to take direct action to liberate his nation's capital.
Steven J Zaloga first describes the operations of Patton's Third Army as it advanced towards Paris before focusing on the actions of the Resistance...
In July 1944 of World War II (1939-1945), Operation Cobra broke the stalemate in Normandy and sent the Allies racing across France. The Allied comm...
Osprey's examination of the destructive events of a pivotal battle of World War I (1914-1918). On 21 February 1916 German General Erich von Falkenhayn unleashed his hammer-blow offensive against the French fortress city of Verdun. His aim was nothing short of the destruction of the French army. Falkenhayn was sure that the symbolic value of Verdun was such that the French would be 'compelled to throw in every man they have.' He was equally sure that 'if they do so the forces of France will bleed to death'. The massed batteries of German guns would smash the French troops in their trenches and...
Osprey's examination of the destructive events of a pivotal battle of World War I (1914-1918). On 21 February 1916 German General Erich von Falkenhayn...
One of the most enduring and vivid images of Vietnam is the helicopter. There is little doubt that the helicopter revolutionized warfare and how the war in Vietnam (1955-1975) was fought. Helicopters lifted troops, supplies, material, equipment, and vehicles. They conducted visual reconnaissance, command and control, medical evacuation, artillery spotting, fire support, and countless administrative tasks. They were aerial weapons platforms and aerial trucks. The 40,000 pilots were the men behind this revolution.
Many helicopter pilots were thrill seekers to some degree. They liked...
One of the most enduring and vivid images of Vietnam is the helicopter. There is little doubt that the helicopter revolutionized warfare and how th...
On January 27, 1945, the 6th Ranger Battalion and the 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit (the Alamo Scouts) began the most dangerous and important mission of their careers to rescue 500 American, British and Dutch prisoners-of-war held at a camp near Cabanatuan. This daring plan was fraught with difficulties - the rangers had to struggle with harsh jungle terrain, 30 miles behind enemy lines against a far larger force, knowing that if their secret mission was leaked, the POWs would be massacred by their captors. Yet, with the help of a Filipino guerilla force, they managed to liberate...
On January 27, 1945, the 6th Ranger Battalion and the 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit (the Alamo Scouts) began the most dangerous and importan...
In the early hours of D-Day, 1944, a group from the US Army 2nd Rangers Battalion were sent on one of the legendary raids of World War II. Their mission was to scale the cliffs overlooking Omaha beach and assault the German coastal artillery at Pointe-du-Hoc, which allied intelligence had identified as a threat to the impending invasion. It was thought that only a raid could ensure that the guns would remain silent during the D-Day landings. But allied intelligence was wrong. After climbing the cliffs under aggressive German fire and securing the battery site, the Rangers discovered that...
In the early hours of D-Day, 1944, a group from the US Army 2nd Rangers Battalion were sent on one of the legendary raids of World War II. Their mi...
In May 1943, a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history by flying a high-risk, low-level, nighttime attack against German hydro-electric dams vital to the Nazi armaments industry in the Ruhr Valley. A comparatively tiny part of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris' four-month-long "Battle of the Ruhr," this one raid had an impact totally out of proportion to the small number of aircraft involved. It highlights the synergy of science and technology, weapons development and production, mission planning and practice, and the unflinching courage in...
In May 1943, a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history by flying a high-risk, low-level, nighttime ...
The St Mihiel salient had been formed in 1914 as the Germans drove towards Paris at the beginning of World War I (1914-1918). The French had attempted to recapture it in 1915 without success and in 1916 the Germans used the area as a base to attack Verdun. The bitter battle for Verdun had cost hundreds of thousands of German and French casualties. After the Germans called off their attack of the salient, the war shifted north, leaving the salient protruding ominously into the Allied lines. Despite holding the salient since 1914, after the losses of early 1918, Ludendorff reluctantly decided...
The St Mihiel salient had been formed in 1914 as the Germans drove towards Paris at the beginning of World War I (1914-1918). The French had attempted...
4 
