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From an acclaimed military historian, the interlocking lives of
three of the most important and consequential generals in World War
II Born in the two decades prior to World War I, George Patton,
Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel became among the most
recognized and successful military leaders of the 20th century.
However, as acclaimed military historian Lloyd Clark reveals in his
penetrating and insightful braided chronicle of their lives, they
charted very different, often interrupted, paths to their ultimate
leadership positions commanding hundreds of thousands of troops
during World War II and celebrated as heroes in the United States,
Britain, and Germany.Patton was born into a military family and
from an early age felt he was destined for glory; following a
disjointed childhood, Montgomery found purpose and direction in a
military academy; Rommel's father was a former officer, so his
pursuit of a military career was logical. Having ascended to the
middle ranks, each faced battle for the first time in World War I,
a searing experience that greatly influenced their future approach
to war and leadership. When war broke out again in 1939, Montgomery
and Rommel were immediately engaged, while Patton chafed until the
U.S. joined the Allies in 1942 and the three men, by then generals,
collided in North Africa in 1943, and then again, climactically, in
France after D-Day in 1944.Weaving letters, diary extracts,
official reports, and other documents into his original narrative,
recounting dramatic battles as they developed on the ground and at
headquarters, Clark also explores the controversies that swirled
around Patton, Montgomery, and Rommel throughout their careers,
sometimes threatening to derail them. Ultimately, however, their
unique abilities to bridge the space between leader and led
cemented their legendary reputations.
'Utterly fascinating.' James Holland 'First-class... The intense
rivalry of Monty and Patton is one of the great stories of the war,
and has never been told better.' Andrew Roberts Born in the two
decades prior to World War I, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery and
Erwin Rommel became among the most recognized and successful
military leaders of the twentieth century. However, as acclaimed
military historian Lloyd Clark reveals in his penetrating and
insightful chronicle of their lives, they charted very different,
often interrupted, paths to their ultimate leadership positions
commanding hundreds of thousands of troops during World War II.
Each faced battle for the first time in World War I, a searing
experience that greatly influenced their future approach to war and
leadership. When war broke out again in 1939, Montgomery and Rommel
were immediately engaged, while Patton chafed until the US joined
the Allies in 1942 and the three men, by then generals, collided in
North Africa in 1943, and then again, climactically, in France
after D-Day in 1944. Weaving letters, diary extracts, official
reports and other documents into his original narrative, recounting
dramatic battles as they developed on the ground and at
headquarters, Clark also explores the controversies that swirled
around Patton, Montgomery and Rommel throughout their careers,
sometimes threatening to derail them. Ultimately, however, their
unique abilities to bridge the space between leader and led
cemented their legendary reputations.
"Masterly . . . a heartbreaking, beautifully told story of wasted
sacrifice." --Vince Rinehart, The Washington Post The Allied attack
of Normandy beach and its resultant bloodbath have been
immortalized in film and literature, but the U.S. campaign on the
beaches of Western Italy reigns as perhaps the deadliest battle of
World War II's western theater. In January 1944, about six months
before D-Day, an Allied force of thirty-six thousand soldiers
launched one of the first attacks on continental Europe at Anzio, a
small coastal city thirty miles south of Rome. The assault was
conceived as the first step toward an eventual siege of the Italian
capital. But the advance stalled and Anzio beach became a death
trap. After five months of brutal fighting and monumental
casualties on both sides, the Allies finally cracked the German
line and marched into Rome on June 5, the day before D-Day. Richly
detailed and fueled by extensive archival research of newspapers,
letters, and diaries--as well as scores of original interviews with
surviving soldiers on both sides of the trenches--Anzio is a
harrowing and incisive true story by one of today's finest military
historians.
On July 5, 1943, the greatest land battle in history began when
Nazi and Red Army forces clashed near the town of Kursk, on the
western border of the Soviet Union. Code named "Operation Citadel,"
the German offensive would cut through the bulge in the eastern
front that had been created following Germany's retreat at the
battle of Stalingrad. But the Soviets, well-informed about
Germany's plans through their network of spies, had months to
prepare. Two million men supported by 6,000 tanks, 35,000 guns, and
5,000 aircraft convened in Kursk for an epic confrontation that was
one of the most important military engagements in history, the
epitome of "total war." It was also one of the most bloody, and
despite suffering seven times more casualties, the Soviets won a
decisive victory that became a turning point in the war. With
unprecedented access to the journals and testimonials of the
officers, soldiers, political leaders, and citizens who lived
through it, The Battle of the Tanks is the definitive account of an
epic showdown that changed the course of history.
5th July 1943: the greatest land battle of all time began around
the town of Kursk in Russia. This epic confrontation between German
and Soviet forces was one of the most important military
engagements in history and epitomised 'total war'.It was also one
of the most bloody, characterised by hideous excess and outrageous
atrocities. The battle concluded with Germany having incurred
nearly three million dead and the Soviet Union a staggering ten
million. It was a monumental and decisive encounter of breathtaking
intensity which became a turning point, not only on the Eastern
Front, but in the Second World War as a whole. Using the very
latest available archival material including the testimonies of
veterans and providing strategic perspective alongside personal
stories of front line fighting, Lloyd Clark has written a lucid,
enthralling and heart-stopping account of this incredible battle.
'Utterly fascinating.' James Holland 'First-class... The intense
rivalry of Monty and Patton is one of the great stories of the war,
and has never been told better.' Andrew Roberts Born in the two
decades prior to World War I, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery and
Erwin Rommel became among the most recognized and successful
military leaders of the twentieth century. However, as acclaimed
military historian Lloyd Clark reveals in his penetrating and
insightful chronicle of their lives, they charted very different,
often interrupted, paths to their ultimate leadership positions
commanding hundreds of thousands of troops during World War II.
Each faced battle for the first time in World War I, a searing
experience that greatly influenced their future approach to war and
leadership. When war broke out again in 1939, Montgomery and Rommel
were immediately engaged, while Patton chafed until the US joined
the Allies in 1942 and the three men, by then generals, collided in
North Africa in 1943, and then again, climactically, in France
after D-Day in 1944. Weaving letters, diary extracts, official
reports and other documents into his original narrative, recounting
dramatic battles as they developed on the ground and at
headquarters, Clark also explores the controversies that swirled
around Patton, Montgomery and Rommel throughout their careers,
sometimes threatening to derail them. Ultimately, however, their
unique abilities to bridge the space between leader and led
cemented their legendary reputations.
The German campaign in France during the summer of 1940 was pivotal
to Hitler's ambitions and fundamentally affected the course of the
Second World War. Having squabbled about fighting methods right up
to the start of the campaign, the German forces provided the Fuhrer
with a swift, efficient and decisive military victory over the
Allied forces. In achieving in just six weeks what their fathers
had failed to accomplish during the four years of the First World
War, Germany altered the balance of power in Europe at a stroke.
Yet, as Lloyd Clark shows in this enthralling new book, it was far
from a foregone conclusion. Blitzkrieg tells the story of the
campaign, while highlighting the key technologies, decisions and
events that led to German success, and details the mistakes, good
fortune and chronic weaknesses in their planning process and
approach to war fighting. There are also compelling portraits of
the officers who played key roles, including Heinz Guderian, Erwin
Rommel, Kurt Student, Charles de Gaulle and Bernard Montgomery.
Clark argues that far from being undefeatable, the France 1940
campaign revealed Germany and its armed forces to be highly
vulnerable - a fact dismissed by Hitler as he began to plan for his
invasion of the Soviet Union - and offers a gripping reassessment
of the myths that have built up around one of the Second World
War's greatest military victories.
Operation "Market Garden" was the largest airborne operation in
history and its aim was to end the war in Europe by Christmas 1944.
On 17 September, 20,000 men were dropped behind enemy lines to
seize a number of vital Rhine bridges in the Netherlands over which
the British Second Army would advance. But they had underestimated
what the enemy was still capable of achieving, and their advance
was blocked by two resolute German SS Panzer divisions.
Reinforcement soldiers coming by land had been delayed by stiff
German resistance and bad weather, and were eventually prevented
from reaching Arnhem. This resulted in 6000 British paratroopers
being taken prisoner. The two US airborne divisions who also held
their ground suffered 35000 casualties. "Market Garden" was an
utter defeat for the Allies. Lloyd Clark gives a chronological
overview of the operation, from its initial conception through to
the end of the battle. He emphasizes both parts of the operation
from the air and on the ground, as well as the participation from
all parties involved - Britain, America and Poland fighting for the
Allies, and also the actions of the German defenders.
This is the story of the Anglo-American amphibious assault and
subsequent battle on the Italian west coast at Anzio which was
launched in January 1944 in a bold attempt to outflank the
formidable German defences known as the 'Gustav Line'. ANZIO - THE
FRICTION OF WAR outlines the strategic background to the offensive
before detailing the landing, the development of an Allied
defensive position, the battles in and around the perimeter, the
stalemate, the breakout and the capture of Rome on 4 June 1944.
While assessing the events at Anzio with the eye of an experienced
military historian, Lloyd Clark also examines in detail the human
response to the battle from high command to foot soldier. He also
emphasises the German story - the first time this has ever been
done.
A Fox Terrier's memoirs of his 250 mile walkies on the Swiss Alpine
Pass Route, a spectacular 250 mile traverse of the Swiss Alps that
includes 58,000ft of ascent.
A Fox Terriers memoirs of his 250 mile walkies on the Swiss Alpine
Pass Route, a spectacular 250 mile traverse of the Swiss Alps that
includes 58,000ft of ascent.
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