When one thinks of influential World War II military figures, five-star generals such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley instantly come to mind. As important as these central figures were to the Second World War, the conflict produced equally effective lower-profile leaders whose influence had an undeniable impact.Among these leaders are William Simpson, commander of the US Ninth Army, and James Moore, his chief of staff. Working in tandem, the pair helmed a unit that gained ...

In Sabers through the Reich, William Stuart Nance provides the first comprehensive operational history of American corps cavalry in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II. The corps cavalry had a substantive and direct impact on Allied success in almost every campaign, and served as offensive guards for armies across Europe, conducting reconnaissance, economy of force, and security missions, as well as prisoner of war rescues. From D-Day and Operation Cobra t...

This is the fascinating account, as recorded from the US perspective, of the bitter fighting during the eight days and nights of encirclement at Bastogne. First published in the pages of the Infantry Journal in 1946, this contemporary account by S.L.A. Marshall was rescued from obscurity by the US Armys Center Of Military History and is now appearing in e-book form for the first time. There are few better or more authoritative accounts of the struggle as seen through the eyes of the American ...

This WWII history critically reexamines one of the most dramatic and significant battles to follow the D-Day landings in Normandy.The destruction of the trapped German forces in the Falaise pocket in August 1944 is one of the most famous episodes of the Normandy campaign. But myths have grown up around the battle, and its impact on the course of the war is often misunderstood. In this meticulously researched study, Anthony Tucker-Jones dispels misconceptions about t...

The ferocious battles for survival fought by trapped German forces in Russia have become synonymous with that most terrible of all military campaigns. Shortly after the war the personal experiences of those who had fought in the battles were collected together as the German Report Series. The German report series includes invaluable information from impeccable sources on the pockets formed at Klin, Velikiye Luki, Cherkassy and Kamenets-Podolskiy.

In this classic portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower the soldier, bestselling historian Stephen E. Ambrose examines the Allied commander’s leadership during World War II.Ambrose brings Eisenhower’s experience of the Second World War to life, showing in vivid detail how the general’s skill as a diplomat and a military strategist contributed to Allied successes in North Africa and in Europe, and established him as one of the greatest military leaders in the world. Ambrose, then the Assoc...

The editor of Hitler Triumphant combines history and fiction to craft an alternative history of the Normandy landings on D-Day.It is June, 1944. The Allied armies are poised for the full-scale invasion of Fortress Europe. Across the Channel, the vaunted Wehrmacht lies waiting for the signs of invasion, ready for the final battle . . .What happens next is well-known to any student of modern history. The outcome could easily have been very different, a...

In December 1944 the German military made its final attempt to end the Second World War by throwing in all its reserves in a desperate attempt to shatter the Allied lines. After breaking through the American-held sector in the Ardennes, two Panzer armies headed for the bridges over the River Meuse. However, a combination of poor planning, bad weather, tortuous terrain and, above all, the determined defence of keys towns and villages delayed the advance. The Allies were abl...

[Includes 14 maps and 96 photos]During most of the eleven months between D-day and V-E day, the U.S. Army was carrying on highly successful offensive operations. As a consequence, the American soldier was buoyed with success, imbued with the idea that his enemy could not strike him a really heavy counterblow...Then, unbelievably, and under the goad of Hitler's fanaticism, the German Army launched its powerful counteroffensive in the Ardennes in Dec. 1944 with the design of knifing t...

An account of the ups and downs of a six-month-long WWII campaign with "a well detailed chronological order of the battles [and] interesting photographs" ( Armorama).A selection of the Military Book Club.Following the Allied breakout from the Normandy beachhead in July 1944, the vaunted German Army seemed on the verge of collapse. As British and US forces fanned out across northwestern France, enemy resistance unexpectedly dissolve...

Dramatic photographs of Nazi Germany's shocking Ardennes Offensive that nearly turned the tide of World War II—from the author of In Pursuit of Hitler.Hitler's desperate last throw during the depths of winter 1944/45 came perilously close to being a major disaster for the Allies. Their offensive through the Ardennes fell on the Americans and caught them totally by surprise. Unaccustomed to setbacks, the situation was for a time extremely serious and in some...

A military intelligence expert examines the most formative battle of World War II.The Battle of Normandy was the greatest offensive campaign the world had ever seen. Millions of soldiers battling for control of Europe were thrust onto the front lines of a massive war unlike any experienced in history. But the greatest of clashes would prove to be the crucible in which the outcome of World War II would be decided.Author John Prados tells the story of how and...