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Despite all technological advances, final mastery of any
battlefield depends upon the tight-knit group of footsoldiers
trained to manoeuvre, shoot and dig in. This first of a two-part
study examines the methods by which the Western infantry of World
War II - the German, British and US armies - actually brought their
firepower to bear. Drawing upon period training manuals for the
evolving theory, and on personal memoirs for the individual
practice, this first book covers the organization and tactics of
the squad of ten or a dozen men, and the platoon of three or four
squads. The text is illustrated with contemporary photographs and
diagrams, and with colour plates bringing to life the movement of
soldiers on the battlefield.
The North Africa campaign of 1940-43 brought the British Army its
first significant land victory, as they defeated the Italians in a
number of battles between 1940-41. This overwhelming success was
the trigger for the Afrikakorps deployment in North Africa, and the
British then suffered a reversal in fortune at the hands of
Rommel's elite troops between 1941 and 1942. They rallied in 1942
to 1943, claiming decisive victories at El Alamein and in Tunisia.
For the 8th Army there followed another long, costly struggle up
the mountainous length of Italy in 1943-45. This second of three
titles describes and illustrates in detail the tropical uniforms
and equipment issued to 8th and 1st Armies.
In 1939 more than 140,000 New Zealanders enlisted to fight overseas
during World War II. Of these, 104,000 served in the Second New
Zealand Expeditionary Force. Initially thrown into the doomed
campaign to halt the German blitzkrieg on Greece and Crete (1941),
the division was rebuilt under the leadership of MajGen Sir Bernard
Freyberg, and became the elite corps within Montgomery's Eighth
Army in the desert. After playing a vital role in the victory at El
Alamein (1942) the 'Kiwis' were the vanguard of the pursuit to
Tunisia. In 1943-45 the division was heavily engaged in the Italian
mountains, especially at Cassino (1944); it ended the war in
Trieste. Meanwhile, a smaller NZ force supported US forces against
the Japanese in the Solomons and New Guinea (1942-44). Fully
illustrated with specially commissioned colour plates, this is the
story of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force's vital
contribution to Allied victory in World War II.
Expertly fortified and stubbornly defended by some of Germany's
finest troops, the Cassino massif and the devastated town at its
foot defied assault by British, American, French, Indian, New
Zealand and Polish troops from January until May 1944. When the
Gustav and Hitler Line defences were finally swept aside by Field
Marshal Alexander's great Operation "Diadem" in May, General Mark
Clark's controversial decision to drive on Rome itself rather than
cutting off the retreating German Tenth Army cast into question the
prize actually gained by those five months of bloodletting. The
grim story of the Four Battles of Cassino is told here in detail,
supported by appendices, over 100 photographs and maps and
illustrated by a portfolio of specially commissioned colour plates
of troops of eight of the armies involved.
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