With rare wartime photography, this WWII history presents an in-depth look at one of the most grueling and vital battles of the Normandy campaign.After storming the beaches on D-Day, the US First Army labored to advance through the Norman bocage country in the west. The lethal struggle that developed there was a defining episode in the Normandy campaign, and this photographic history is a vivid introduction to it.The Germans mounted a tenacious defense from t...

A fully illustrated survey of the German infantryman on the Eastern Front in World War II. The German Army was all-conquering until late 1941 when, only a few miles short of Moscow, it ran out of steam. Maniacal defense, the Russian winter and exhaustion all played their part and, although they didn't realize it, the German forces wouldn't advance further on this front. While they continued their offensives into 1942, Soviet defenses had stiffened. Its equipment – notably the T-34 – had im...

A pictorial history of the British Eighth Army's campaigns in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia during World War II.The British Eighth Army, which played a decisive role in defeating the Axis in North Africa, was one of the most celebrated Allied armies of the Second World War, and this photographic history is the ideal introduction to it. The carefully chosen photographs show the men, weapons, and equipment of the army during campaigns in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. The ba...

Caen, a D-Day objective on 6 June 1944, did not fall to the British and Canadian troops of Second Army until 6 August, by which time much of the city had been reduced to rubble. The two-month struggle was a crucial stage in the Normandy campaign and, as Simon Forty demonstrates in this photographic history, one of the most controversial.His detailed, graphic account gives the reader a fascinating insight into the opposing forces, the conditions, the terrain, the equipment and weaponry depl...

A fully illustrated survey of the Soviet infantryman on the Eastern Front in World War II. The Soviet Army was ill-prepared for its ally's treacherous onslaught in 1941. Its officer corps decimated by Stalin's purges and its men less well-trained than the Germans, the Red Army was poorly led, hampered by the power of the political officers and only partly mobilized. But, in spite of the huge German victories and the speed of the Nazi attack, the Soviets proved fantastically capable of roll...

A pictorial history of Allied forces making their way through Italy in the final years of World War II, featuring rare photos from wartime archives.The Italian campaign was one of the most debated of World War II, splitting the American and British allies, and causing great disharmony. After the fall of Rome and the surrender of Italy, the invasion of Normandy led to the Italian campaign becoming a sideshow as the "D-Day Dodgers" fought their way through Italy to th...

The missions and massacres of the infamous panzer division that spearheaded the German Ardennes Offensive in the Battle of the Bulge.From the outset of the offensive, launched on a snowy December 16, the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler faced difficulties. It captured a fuel dump at Büllingen, but brave defense forced Commander Joachim Peiper onto tight, winding roads that proved difficult to negotiate and soon the battle group was strung out over ...

The tank was born to break the deadlock of World War I's Western Front, where trench-based defence in depth, barbed wire, machine guns and artillery, led to immense loss of life. Initially dogged by mechanical unreliability and early misuse, post-First World War development of technology and tactics saw the Germans open World War II with the devastating Blitzkrieg in which armoured divisions led the way. Tanks dominated the battlefields' of World War II and have continued to develop, reach...

The last year of the war saw Russian offensives that cleared the Germans out of their final strongholds in Finland and the Baltic states, before advancing into Finnmark in Norway and the east European states that bordered Germany: Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. By spring 1945 the Red Army had reached to Vienna and the Balkans, and had thrust deep into Germany where they met American, French, and British troops advancing from the west. The final days of the Third Reich were at hand. B...

"An interesting introductory read . . . [on] this infamous 'bridge too far' division" in the series that brings World War II battles to life ( Classic Military Vehicle).After being held in reserve during the battle of Normandy and spending three months waiting for action, 1st Airborne played a leading role in Operation Market—the air component of Operation Market Garden, an audacious attempt by the Allies to bypass the Siegfried Line and advance into the R...

“Though packed with illustrations, this is not just a picture book. It contains ample descriptions regarding how the German system of supply worked, and analysis that is not afraid to raise new points of view. If you are visually oriented, then of course this book is packed with detail into the German equipment, and logistical machinery of war.” – Globe at WarWhen we think of the German Army we think of the Blitzkrieg years, 1939–41. With their Auftragstaktik

"A great book" on the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the series that brings World War II battles to life ( Army Rumour Service).The denouement of the battle of Normandy, the fighting around Falaise and Chambois in August 1944, and the pursuit of the retreating German armies to the Seine provided the Allies with an immense victory—all made possible by Operation Cobra . . .As US First Army and British Second Army squeezed the western ...