Author: Nathan Prefer Publisher: Casemate ISBN: 1612003222 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 361
Book Description
By the fall of 1944 the Western Allies appeared to be having it all their own way. The summers Normandy invasion had finally succeeded and the Germans had been driven out of northern France and most of the Low Countries. In September the invasion of Frances southern coast had met less opposition and Allied divisions had begun lining up along the Rhine. But while the Americans were about to meet a nasty surprise in the Ardennes, the Germans never did let go of the province of Alsace, and in a hard pocket around the city of Colmar continued to resist. On New Years Eve they launched a counteroffensive, Operation Northwind, that nearly put Allied forces back on their heels. While the Allies were eventually able to take care of their Ardennes problem the Colmar one still remained. On January 12, 1945, Eisenhower could only tell George Marshall, It is a very bad thorn in our side today." This is the story of the Sixth Army Group (7th US & 1st French Armies) which fought on the southern flank of the SHAEF front. The French had multiple problems during this campaign so that increasing number of US divisions needed to take part. In the process the 3rd and 28th Infantry Divisions, and 10th and 14th Armored, among others were able to cover themselves with heroism, though hardly less than the threadbare German 19th Army, which bravely resisted against enormous odds until finally the west bank of the Rhine was cleared. Amidst a horrific winter and rough terrain, interspersed by demolished towns, both sides traded blows in a ferocious campaign often neglected in histories of the war. This book informs us fully of the tremendous and costly struggle waged on that often-neglected sector of the front.
Author: Nathan N. Prefer Publisher: Casemate ISBN: 1612003230 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 361
Book Description
“The difficult fighting in the Colmar Pocket is brought to vivid life” in this WWII chronicle of the Allied 6th Army Group (WWII History). By the fall of 1944, the Western Allied forces appeared to be unstoppable. The summer’s Normandy invasion had driven the Germans out of northern France and most of the Low Countries. In September, they liberated France’s southern coast with little opposition. Then, Allied divisions began lining up along the Rhine. While the Americans met a nasty surprise in the Ardennes, the Germans also held on to the province of Alsace, maintaining a hard pocket around the city of Colmar. On New Year’s Eve, they launched Operation Northwind, a counteroffensive that nearly put Allied forces back on their heels. On January 12, 1945, Eisenhower could only tell George Marshall that Colmar was “a very bad thorn in our side today.” This is the story of the Sixth Army Group, a unit that combined US and French forces, and its unexpectedly bloody and protracted battle for the Colmar Pocket. Amidst a horrific winter and rough terrain, interspersed by demolished towns, the Allied Army Group traded blows with the German 19th in a ferocious campaign. This book informs us fully of the tremendous and costly struggle waged in an often-neglected sector of World War II’s European Theater.
Author: David Colley Publisher: Ausa ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
This title explores what might have occured had Ike allowed Devers to cross the Rhine. The author cites the opinions of many high-ranking generals that the attack would have been a bold and likely successful manoeuvre that might have ended the war earlier and saved thousands of American lives.
Author: Nathan N. Prefer Publisher: Casemate ISBN: 1612008291 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 394
Book Description
This WWII regimental history traces an unsung U.S. Army from its important role in the liberation of Europe through the postwar lives of its leaders. The Ninth Army was formed in May of 1944 under the command of General William Hood Simpson. By late August, it was ready to join the crusade in Europe. Known by its radio call sign “Conquer,” this brave army landed at Utah Beach, France, and joined General Patton’s Battle for Brest, finally capturing Brittany’s largest port in late September. The Ninth Army went on to become the only American army to fight under British Field Marshal Montgomery’s command, crossing the Rhine and playing a role in the Battle of the Bulge. The Ninth was involved in the reduction of the Wesel Pocket, Operation Varsity, the airborne drop across the Rhine, the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket, and then the “Race to Berlin.” The Ninth reached the Elbe River before it was stopped not by the enemy, but by high command. Following the end of hostilities, the army was dissolved. This new history of the Ninth covers all levels of the army’s activities from the responsibilities and duties of the higher echelon, the commanders through to combat stories of the units under its command and Medal of Honor actions.
Author: Jeremy Black Publisher: Indiana University Press ISBN: 0253052718 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 265
Book Description
“An “insightful and informative” overview of the role of tanks in combat from the First World War to the present day (Dennis Showalter, author of Armor and Blood). The story of the battlefield in the twentieth century was dominated by a handful of developments. Foremost of these was the introduction and refinement of tanks. In Tank Warfare, Jeremy Black, a recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize from the Society for Military History, offers a comprehensive global account of the history of tanks and armored warfare in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. First introduced onto the battlefield during World War I, tanks represented the reconciliation of firepower and mobility and immediately seized the imagination of commanders and commentators concerned about the constraints of ordinary infantry. The developments of technology and tactics in the interwar years were realized in the German blitzkrieg in World War II and beyond. Yet the account of armor on the battlefield is a tale of limitations and defeats as well as of potential and achievements. Tank Warfare examines the traditional narrative of armored warfare while at the same time challenging it, and Black suggests that tanks were no “silver bullet” on the battlefield. Instead, their success was based on their inclusion in the general mix of weaponry available to commanders and the context in which they were used. “An excellent overview of the subject.” —Alaric Searle, author of Armoured Warfare: A Military, Political and Global History
Author: Alex Kershaw Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 0593183754 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 385
Book Description
*The instant New York Times bestseller* The untold story of four of the most decorated soldiers of World War II—all Medal of Honor recipients—from the beaches of French Morocco to Hitler’s own mountaintop fortress, by the national bestselling author of The First Wave “Pitch-perfect.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Riveting.”—World War II magazine • “Alex Kershaw is the master of putting the reader in the heat of the action.”—Martin Dugard As the Allies raced to defeat Hitler, four men, all in the same unit, earned medal after medal for battlefield heroism. Maurice “Footsie” Britt, a former professional football player, became the very first American to receive every award for valor in a single war. Michael Daly was a West Point dropout who risked his neck over and over to keep his men alive. Keith Ware would one day become the first and only draftee in history to attain the rank of general before serving in Vietnam. In WWII, Ware owed his life to the finest soldier he ever commanded, a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy. In the campaign to liberate Europe, each would gain the ultimate accolade, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Tapping into personal interviews and a wealth of primary source material, Alex Kershaw has delivered his most gripping account yet of American courage, spanning more than six hundred days of increasingly merciless combat, from the deserts of North Africa to the dark heart of Nazi Germany. Once the guns fell silent, these four exceptional warriors would discover just how heavy the Medal of Honor could be—and how great the expectations associated with it. Having survived against all odds, who among them would finally find peace?
Author: David P Colley Publisher: ISBN: 9781682476444 Category : Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
Decision at Strasbourg relates the remarkable and largely unknown story of Lt. General Jacob Devers' lost opportunity to launch a bold attack into the heart of Nazi Germany, which may have won the European war in late 1944, six months before Victory-over-Europe (V-E) Day in May 1945.
Author: Dwight D. Eisenhower Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing ISBN: 1839741279 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 377
Book Description
First published in 1946 as Eisenhower’s Own Story of the War THIS is one of the truly great documents in the history of human conflict. It is the personal, yet definitive report of the world’s mightiest military operation, written by the one man qualified to write it, the man under whose Supreme Command the Allied forces rode to triumph. A classic of information, in the plain language for which our Chief of Staff is famous, it reveals the whole inside story of how the war was run and won.
Author: Russell F. Weigley Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Jointly published by Plunkett Lake Press and Indiana University Press This study of the American-led campaign in Europe in World War II analyzes command decisions at both the strategic and tactical levels. All the complex ingredients of armies at war — the burdens of history, the impact of technology, the roles of personalities, the confusions of the battlefield — are presented based on extensive scholarship. Field Marshal Montgomery and Ike's lieutenants, Generals Omar N. Bradley, Jacob L. Devers, Courtney H. Hodges, George S. Patton, Jr., Alexander M. Patch, William H. Simpson, Leonard T. Gerow, J. Lawton Collins, and Matthew B. Ridgway, and others appear in the book. All major strategic and tactical decisions in the battles of the American offensive against Nazi Germany are covered, with descriptions of key terrain features and many personal insights drawn from various diaries. The book provides an assessment of the leadership and fighting capabilities of the Allied forces in the key European battles of World War II. “The publication of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants is an event of significance in American military writing... admirable... clearly the product of exhaustive, painstaking research.” — Drew Middleton, The New York Times “Eisenhower’s Lieutenants is an outstanding and highly recommended work. It offers the wealth of information, superb research and presentation, comprehensive treatment, and challenging reinterpretation one has come to expect from Weigley. It also points out once again that his reputation as one of our outstanding military historians is well deserved.” — Mark A. Stoler, Journal of American History “... outstanding book... highly professional study of command and operations in northwest Europe, 1944-45... the best account we have of the World War II campaigns from Normandy to the Elbe.” — Forrest C. Pogue, American Historical Review “The fullest account yet of the climactic campaign in northwestern Europe, from the planning of D-Day through the German surrender, with an interesting focus on the personalities involved in shaping the Allied forces, plans, and operations... precisely informative and broadly rewarding.” — Kirkus Reviews “... an excellent book.” — Calvin B. Peters, Journal of Political and Military Sociology “... by the dean of American military historians...” — Washington Post “I had thought I knew everything about World War II that I would ever want to know. I was wrong. Reading Eisenhower’s Lieutenants was a wonderfully enriching experience. I learned more than I ever would have thought possible. This will unquestionably become one of the great classics of American military history.” —Stephen E. Ambrose
Author: Nathan Prefer
Author: Nathan N. Prefer
Author: 
Author: David Colley
Author: Nathan N. Prefer
Author: Jeremy Black
Author: Alex Kershaw
Author: David P Colley
Author: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Author: Russell F. Weigley