Author: Marc Romanych Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1472837169 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 49
Book Description
As the outbreak of World War II approached, Nazi Germany ordered artillery manufacturers Krupp and Rheimetall-Borsig to build several super-heavy siege guns, vital to smash through French and Belgian fortresses that stood in the way of the Blitzkrieg. These 'secret weapons' were much larger than the siege artillery of World War I and included the largest artillery piece of the war, the massive 80cm railway gun 'schwere Gustav' (Heavy Gustav). However, these complex and massive artillery pieces required years to build and test and, as war drew near, the German High Command hastily brought several WWI-era heavy artillery pieces back into service and then purchased, and later confiscated, a large number of Czech Skoda mortars. The new super siege guns began entering service in time for the invasion of Russia, notably participating in the attack on the fortress of Brest-Litovsk. The highpoint for the siege artillery was the siege of Sevastopol in the summer of 1942, which saw the largest concentration of siege guns in the war. Afterwards, when Germany was on the defensive in the second half of 1943, the utility of the guns was greatly diminished, and they were employed in a piecemeal and sporadic fashion on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. In total, the German Army used some 50 siege guns during World War II, far more than the thirty-five it had during World War I. Supported by contemporary photographs and detailed artwork of the guns and their components, this is an essential guide to these guns, exploring their history, development, and deployment in stunning detail.
Author: Joachim Engelmann Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited ISBN: 9780887407628 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 172
Book Description
Never before in German military history did the German Artillery possess such variety and magnitude as in the World War II era. From North Cape to Tobruk, Biscay to Lapland, Den Helder to the Caucasus, there were more than 1000 light and about 340 heavy artillery units, as well as the light and heavy field howitzer units, assault gun units, brigades and batteries, observation units, railroad batteries, mountain artillery units, light gun units and launcher regiments. The German Artillery included 655,000 men in 1943, or 22 percent of all the soldiers who went into action. Thirty-nine German gun tipes and forty captured gun types from ten different European countries were utilized by these units. The German Artillery took on special significance in the spring of 1943 when the fighting strength of the exhausted infantry began to decrease and armored vehicles became less and less effective in their battle against overwhelming Soviet power. During this period, the Artillery again and again provided the backbone of the German resistance and defense. This volume of photographs presents a look into the operations, action and everyday life of the German artillery - a frequently over-looked aspect of Wehrmacht history.
Author: Ian V. Hogg Publisher: Crowood Press (UK) ISBN: 9781861267122 Category : Artillery Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Allied Artillery of World War One is a well-researched and accessible guide to developments in Britain, France, the United States of America, Italy, Belgium, Serbia and Russia. Topics covered include: Field Artillery; Heavy Artillery; Railway Artillery; Coastal Defence Artillery; Anti-Aircraft Guns and ammunition.
Author: William B. Hanford Publisher: Stackpole Books ISBN: 0811746364 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 274
Book Description
Rare memoir of a risky job performed by relatively few troops. Honest and observant narrative describes the good, bad, and ugly of the war. Covers World War II's closing months in eastern France and Germany.
Author: Steven J. Zaloga Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1849088195 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 49
Book Description
Determined to learn from the lessons of World War I, the US Army developed a new generation of field artillery weapons and tactics during the 1930s. Consequently, in World War II it was the clear leader in field artillery. Providing a thorough examination of the many critical innovations and doctrines, and the impact they had on performance, including the motorization of artillery, Fire Direction Centers, aerial observation, and radio communications. Exploring, in their entirety, the weapons that formed the backbone of the US artillery arsenal in World War II, this book reveals a wealth of detail not readily available elsewhere.
Author: Wolfgang Fleischer Publisher: Schiffer Publishing ISBN: 9780764320958 Category : Artillery Languages : en Pages : 160
Book Description
With over 260 images, this new volume is a concise, illustrated history of Germany's World War II artillery, its units and operations. Photos include both the towed and self-propelled weapon types. Also included are detailed unit organizational charts and line schematics of artillery rounds.
Author: Steven J. Zaloga Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1472810694 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 52
Book Description
World War II marked the zenith of railway gun development. Although many of the railway guns deployed at the start of the conflict were of World War I vintage, Germany's ambitious development programme saw the introduction of a number of new classes, including the world's largest, the 80cm-calibre Schwerer Gustav and Schwerer Dora guns, which weighed in at 1,350 tons and fired a huge 7-ton shell. This book provides an overview of the types of railway guns in service during World War II, with a special focus on the German railway artillery used in France, Italy and on the Eastern Front, and analyzes why railway guns largely disappeared from use following the end of the war.
Author: Stig H. Moberg Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473895626 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 631
Book Description
This book provides an insight into how artillery resources were established, developed and employed during the Second World War, using the British Royal Artillery as an example. Beginning with an overview of the nature and state of readiness of the Royal Artillery on the outbreak of war, the book analyses in great detail the weapons available to the Royal Artillery, their technical functionality and their performance capabilities. With this knowledge the author then examines the organization, methods, procedures and tactics employed by the Royal Artillery. To complete this fascinating study, Stig Moberg looks at a number of key battles from the war to see how the artillery was used, and the effectiveness of its support to the British and Allied infantry, in campaigns in North Africa, Burma and Europe. British Artillery of the Second World War is profusely illustrated throughout with photographs, maps, plans, graphs, charts and diagrams to demonstrate precisely how the British Artillery was used on the battlefields around the world. Although I am an infantryman, and proud of it, I have many times said that the Royal Regiment of Artillery, in my opinion, did more to win the last war, more than any other Arm of the Service.Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
Author: John Campbell Publisher: Conway Maritime Press ISBN: 9780851779249 Category : Ordnance, Naval Languages : en Pages : 403
Book Description
There is no shortage of reference books on the warships that fought the Second World War, but the weapons they carried have been largely ignored. This situation is entirely rectified in this classic work, which is encyclopaedic in scope and largely based on original research. Divided by country (including minor powers not directly involved in the war), the book covers all the major weaponry of the period. Weapons of earlier vintage that were employed during the war, and those that were at an experimental, trial or design stage in 1945 are also included. The size, scope and originality of this work make it one of the most important reference works available on naval warfare during the Second World War.
Author: Steven J. Zaloga Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1782002138 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 109
Book Description
The US Army's development of the 37mm anti-tank gun began in response to needs identified during the Spanish Civil War. By the time it entered service in Tunisia in 1943, the gun was already obsolete, and the US began the licensed manufacture of the British 6-pdr in the hope of finding a quick solution to its artillery requirements. This in turn proved unequal to the demands of warfare in France in 1944, and further anti-tank measures were developed – rocket propelled grenades for infantry use, and weapons designed specifically for use by the Tank Destroyer Force.
Author: Marc Romanych
Author: Joachim Engelmann
Author: Ian V. Hogg
Author: William B. Hanford
Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Author: Wolfgang Fleischer
Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Author: Stig H. Moberg
Author: John Campbell
Author: Steven J. Zaloga