A groundbreaking study of how war was waged in the far north of Finland, Norway, and the Soviet Union: "Well-illustrated and organized." — WWII HistoryAccording to Lieutenant-General Waldemar Erfurth of the German Army, the General Staff had taken no interest in the military history of the north and east of Europe, failing to imagine that someday German divisions might have to fight through the winter in northern Karelia and on the Murmansk coast. Yet, the ...

A detailed examination of one of the most infamous divisions of the Waffen-SSIncludes 120 rare photographs and maps of the divisionAuthoritative text is accompanied by maps and organisation charts

Since the advent of special forces units in World War II, governments and armies have trained small, elite teams of soldiers to perform operations deemed too risky or demanding for regular troops. Training to enter the special forces is harsh in the extreme, and the few who enter the ranks of the elite can expect a life of intense operational danger. Special forces missions include counter-insurgency, hostage rescue, sabotage, spying, covert surveillance and force ambush. Most of these ope...

This book uses the latest techniques in computer-generated drawings to show the reader exactly how to create an artificial fly, step-by-step.Clearer than photography, more life-like than drawings, the graphic instructions show, by subtle emphasis and exaggeration, precisely what to do.Included are all the basic techniques for applying thread, feather and fur to the hook, and more sophisticated methods such as parachute hackling, using the dubbing loop and hairwinging.

The World War II Secret Operations Handbook lets you in on the skills and tricks used by the British SOE (Special Operations Executive), the US OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the French Maquis, and other special forces in combat in Europe, Africa and Asia between 1939 and 1945. Learn how to rig up a makeshift radio, how to pass undetected in enemy territory, how to live off the land and make shelter, and how to work as a sniper. Learn how operatives blow up bridges, roads, ra...

The 5th SS Division Wiking was the first 'international' – i.e. largely non-German – Waffen-SS division and the only German panzer division comprised largely of foreign troops. Approximately 75 per cent of the division's strength were non-German nationals, all volunteers, and the majority from occupied countries like Belgium, Holland, France, Denmark, and Norway.The Wiking division operated exclusively on the Eastern Front during World War II, where the division quickly earned itsel...

The divisions of the Waffen-SS were the elite of Hitler’s armies in World War II, but the most fanatical of them were not even German. The book offers a comprehensive examination of every foreign Waffen-SS formation, including well-known divisions such as Wiking, Nord, and Prinz Eugen, notoriously brutal units such as the Kaminski Brigade and the British-recruited Britisches Freikorps. Each unit's history, structure and combat record is described in detail. Despite their non-Germanic backg...

Panzer-Division was formed in January 1940 from 4. Leichte-Division. It took part in the campaign in the west fighting in the Netherlands, Belgium and finally France before being transferred to Poland in September 1940. Later it took part in the campaign in the Balkans before fighting on the southern sector during the invasion of the USSR. It then transferred to the central sector in October 1941 and took part in the summer offensive of 1942 and later in the fighting at Kur...

One German soldier's experience in the deadly crucible of World War II combat.Like many Germans, Berlin schoolboy Erwin Bartmann fell under the spell of the Zeitgeist cultivated by the Nazis. Convinced he was growing up in the best country in the world, he dreamt of joining the Leibstandarte, Hitler's elite Waffen SS unit. Erwin fulfilled his dream on May Day 1941, when he walked into the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin as a raw recruit. On arrival at the Eastern F...

An examination of the German campaign on the Eastern Front, from their first significant defeat at the gates of Moscow in 1941 to the defeat at Stalingrad and the Russian capture of Berlin marking the end of the war in Europe.The Russian Front was the decisive theatre of World War II, with the great mass of the German Army and Luftwaffe locked in battle with the Red Army in the largest land campaign in history. On a 1,200 mile front, from the Arctic Circle to the C...

03:15, 22nd June 1941 - Barbarossa is unleashed and Kampfgruppe von Schroif are right there at the cutting edge of the battle for Russia. Thrown into action against the fortress of Brest-Litovsk, von Schroif and his crew drive a new weapon into battle - the legendary Sturmgeschtz. However, even with this latest armoured marvel there is hard fighting as the Reds dig in and doggedly defend the island fortress to the last man.rnrnPenetrating , authentic and stunning in its detail, the long aw...

Waffen-SS Armour in Normandy presents the combat history of SS-Panzer Regiment 12 and SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12 in the Battle for France from June to the end of August 1944 based on transcriptions of their original unit war diaries from the Military History Archives in Prague.Both armored units belonged to the 12.SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. SS-Panzer Regiment 12 was fully equipped with Panzer IV and Panther tanks. The main AFV of SS-Panzerjäger Abteilung 12 was the Jagdpanze...