casemate publishers okt 2017 (3 Ergebnisse)

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - While the 6th Airborne Division had landed in France on D-Day and covered itself in glory, its counterpart, the 1st Airborne Division, had last seen action during an amphibious assault at Taranto on September 9, 1943, as part of the invasion of Italy. Returned to the UK in December 1943, it was held in reserve during the battle of Normandy and spent three months waiting for action, as plan after plan was proposed and then discarded, such was the speed of the Allied pursuit of the Germans.In September 1944, however, 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 Ruhr. It was to be 1st Airborne¿s last action of the war. Encountering more resistance than expected, including II SS Panzer Corps, the division landed too far from Arnhem bridge, and fought bravely but in vain. Held up en route, particularly at Nijmegen, XXX Corps¿ advance to Arnhem stuttered and ran late.After nine days of fighting, 1st Airborne had lost 8,000 men around Arnhem when the survivors retreated across the Lower Rhine to safety. During those nine days, however, they had created a legend: first as the small unit under Lt-Col John Frost held the ¿bridge too far¿ and then as the Oosterbeek perimeter came under sustained attack waiting for XXX Corps to arrive.The Past& Present Series reconstructs historical battles by using photography, juxtaposing modern views with those of the past together with concise explanatory text. It shows how much infrastructure has remained and how much such as outfits, uniforms, and ephemera has changed, providing a coherent link between now and then. 64 pp. Deutsch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler was the spearhead of the assault by Sepp Dietrich¿s Sixth Panzer Armee on the northern flank of the German Ardennes offensive. Divided into Kampfgruppen, the lead was Kampfgruppe Peiper whose armored force included SS Heavy Tank Battalion 501 equipped with King Tigers.The attack was launched on a snowy, freezing December 16, but from the outset, the division lost time against schedule. It captured a fuel dump at B¿llingen, but brave defense forced Peiper onto the southern Rollbahn D whose tight, winding roads proved difficult to negotiate and soon the Kampfgruppe was strung out over 25 kilometres with its heavy armor¿the King Tigers¿slowly losing ground as vehicle after vehicle succumbed to automotive failures. Pushing through Stavelot and Trois Pont, the advanced units of the Kampfgruppe reached Stoumont before lack of fuel¿the Americans had retaken Stavelot and closed off the route for German resupply¿and US Army action forced it to halt at La Gleize.Six days later, on Christmas Eve, with no hope and no fuel, Peiper and his men abandoned their vehicles and made their way back to their lines: only 770 got there. They left behind 135 armored vehicles including the King Tiger that today stands in front of the museum at La Gleize. They also left scattered on their route the murdered bodies of US servicemen¿at Malmedy, Ligneuville, and Wereth¿and civilians, massacres that would lead to postwar trials and continued recriminations.The Past& Present Series reconstructs historical battles by using photography, juxtaposing modern views with those of the past together with concise explanatory text. It shows how much infrastructure has remained and how much such as outfits, uniforms, and ephemera has changed, providing a coherent link between now and then. 64 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Just after its seventieth anniversary, the Battle of the Bulge has lost none of its impact. The largest battle fought by US troops on the continent of Europe started in a surprise attack on December 16, 1944, by four German armies, spearheaded by the cream of the German Panzer forces. Under the cover of bad weather and heavy snow, Hitler¿s last roll of the dice was intended to retake Antwerp, split the Allies, divide their political leadership, and force peace in the West, thus allowing the German forces to concentrate on defeating the Red Army. Strategic pipedream or not, the attack was furious and drained the Eastern Front of reinforcements: 12 armored and 29 infantry divisions, some 2,000 tanks and assault guns¿mainly PzKpfw IVs (800), Panthers (750) and Tigers (250 including some of the new King Tigers)¿ spearheaded the assault, which smashed into the American First and Ninth Armies. Near-complete surprise was achieved thanks to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with offensive plans, and poor reconnaissance. The Germans attacked where least expected¿the forested Ardennes¿a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of the weather conditions, which grounded the Allies¿ overwhelmingly superior air forces. The Allied response was magnificent. Initial reverses brought out the best of Eisenhower¿s armies, which fought with determination and grit against the enemy and the elements. The harsh battles are best summed up by the defense of the northern shoulder around the Elsenborn Ridge, the battle for St. Vith, and in the south the siege of Bastogne, where the town¿s commander, Gen. McAuliffe, rejected German calls for surrender with the pithy reply: ¿Nuts.¿ Within ten days the German attack had been nullified. Patton, at the time planning an attack further south, wheeled his Third Army round in a brilliant maneuver that relieved Bastogne and set up a counterattack which would drive the Germans back behind the Rhine. The Ardennes Battlefields includes details of what can be seen on the ground today¿hardware, memorials, museums, and cemeteries¿using a mixture of media to provide an overview of the campaign: maps old and new highlight what has survived and what hasn¿t; then and now photography allows fascinating comparisons with the images taken at the time; aerial photos give another angle to the story. The fifth book by Leo Marriott and Simon Forty provides a different perspective to this crucial battlefield.