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For many, the Waffen-SS soldier represents the archetype of the
combatant, if not the warrior: well-armed, well-trained, possessing
intelligence in combat, imbued with political and ideological
fanaticism, he is an elite soldier par excellence, even if a lack
of scruples casts a long shadow. However, is this picture true? In
the case of the Battle of Normandy, opinions diverged, not only
among today's historians, but also amongst the German generals at
the time. In all, the Waffen-SS fielded six divisions during the
Battle of Normandy, as well as two heavy battalions of Tiger tanks.
But they were by no means a single homogenous entity, for with the
exception of II. SS-Panzerkorps, the divisions arrived at the front
one after another and were immediately thrown into battle. This
volume in the Casemate Illustrated series examines the Waffen-SS in
Normandy during the fierce fighting of June 1944, when they
struggled to hold back the Allied advance on Caen, though the
picture was by no means one-sided. Extensively illustrated with
photographs, tank profiles, maps, and accompanied by biographies of
key personnel and explanatory text boxes, this volume gives a clear
and accessible account of events, challenging some popular
perceptions along the way.
Tanks were the beasts of the Second World War, machines designed to
destroy anything and anyone in their path. Throughout the summer of
1944, the Allied forces readily employed tanks and armored vehicles
to gain ground in the bloody campaign of Normandy. Heavily armed,
they provided a kind of support which no number of infantrymen
could offer, battling their way through enemy lines with their guns
blazing. From the US 2nd Armored Division named 'Hell on Wheels' to
the British 'Achilles' tank, the encounters they had in battle were
explosive. This volume of the Casemate Illustrated series explores
the Normandy invasion from the perspective of the Allied Armored
divisions, looking at how armored vehicles played a central role in
the many battles that took place. It includes over 40 profiles of
tanks and armored vehicles, from the American Sherman and Stuart
tanks to the bulldozers and amphibious vehicles designed for the
beach. With detailed diagrams and many photos illustrating the
composition of the Allied armored divisions and tank regiments
present at Normandy, this volume explains the crucial part played
by tanks in gaining a foothold in Normandy after the D-Day
landings, as well as the significance of many other types of
armored vehicles.
The path from Moscow to Stalingrad was littered with successes and
losses for both the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, with tensions
remaining high and culminating in one of the harshest battles of
the Second World War. Part of the Casemate Illustrated series, this
volume outlines how it was that, less than a year after their
defeat at Moscow, the German army had found a way to make the
Soviet troops waver in their defence, with their persistence
eventually leading to the Battle of Stalingrad. The successful
expulsion of the German troops from Moscow in the winter of 1941
came at a cost for the Red Army. Weaknesses in the Soviet camp
inspired the Wehrmacht, under Adolf Hitler's close supervision, to
make preparations for offensives along the Eastern Front to push
the Russians further and further back into their territory. With a
complex set of new tactics and the crucial aid of the Luftwaffe,
the German army began to formulate a deadly two-pronged attack on
Stalingrad to reduce the city to rubble. Initially only on the
periphery of operations, bit by bit German ambitions focused on
Stalingrad. In the lead up to this, Timoshenko's failed attack on
Kharkov followed by the Battle of Sebastopol in June 1942 prompted
Operation Blue, the German campaign to advance east on their prized
objective. This volume includes numerous photographs of the ships,
planes, tanks, trucks, and weaponry used by both sides in battle,
alongside detailed maps and text outlining the constantly changing
strategies of the armies as events unfolded.
The 2nd SS Division, "Das Reich," was a battlefront mainstay for
Nazi Germany throughout WWII-from the invasion of Poland in 1939 to
the final surrender in May 1945. In between it was switched
back-and-forth between east and west depending on the crisis, and
it fought in nearly every major campaign, from Barbarossa to
Normandy, and from Kharkov to the Ardennes. Das Reich was the first
Waffen SS division created (though the title "1st" was reserved for
Hitler's Leibstandarte). Originally named the Verfugungs Division,
its regiments fought through the campaigns in Poland, the Low
Countries, and France, earning the respect of Wehrmacht leaders who
originally doubted the efficacy of SS units. Renamed "Das Reich"
after the French surrender, its elements served as a spearhead in
the Balkans campaign, achieving a daring capture of Belgrade. In
Operation Barbarossa, Das Reich fought with Guderian's Second
Panzer Group, first in the drive on Moscow, then toward Kiev, then
Moscow again. Pulled out of the line after gigantic casualties, it
seized Toulon in France, then was sent back to Russia, as part of
the SS Panzer Corps, to retrieve the German debacle after
Stalingrad. At the titanic tank-battle of Kursk, Das Reich was at
the forefront. In June 1944, as a full SS-Panzer Division, Das
Reich played an infamous role in its approach march to Normandy, as
the French Resistance temporarily reached a high tide. On the
Allied invasion front, Das Reich not only escaped from the Falaise
Pocket but was sent back into it, to retrieve other German units
struggling to get out. Das Reich fought in the Battle of the Bulge,
and was then transferred to Hungary, for Hitler's last
counteroffensive of the war. Failing to retake Budapest, elements
of the division were able to mount a gallant defense of Prague.
When the end came, some formations were forced to surrender to the
Russians while others made it to American lines. Its reputation,
for better or worse, had already been established. This lavishly
illustrated book by renowned French historian Yves Buffetaut lays
out the full history of Das Reich in World War II, with rare
photos, informative text, and true insights into a unique combat
division in modern warfare.
One of the greatest paradoxes of the Battle of Normandy is that the
German divisions found it much harder to reach the front line than
the Allies, who had to cross the sea and then deploy in a cramped
bridgehead until the American breakthrough of late July 1944. The
Waffen-SS were no better off than the Heer units and German high
command never quite got on top of operations, as the divisions were
thrown into the melee one by one. During the month of June 1944,
the Panzer divisions present succeeded in containing the Allies in
a small bridgehead. In July, the arrival of more SS divisions
should have finally allowed the Germans to counter-attack
decisively. This was not the reality. The Allies had also
strengthened in number and kept the blows coming, one after
another. Each SS-Panzer division had a different experience of the
fighting in July. This Casemate Illustrated looks at the divisions
one by one throughout Operations Goodwood and Cobra which saw large
tank battles and the collapse of the German front in Normandy. It
includes over 100 photographs, alongside biographies of the
commanders and color profiles of trucks and tanks which played a
key role in operations as the Americans succeeded in breaking
through the German line of defense.
German army deficiencies are often cited as the reason for the
failure of the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes region of
France, Belgium and Luxembourg in December of 1944 to January 1945
which the Germans called Operation Wacht am Rhein, the Allies named
the Ardennes Counteroffensive, and was also commonly known as the
Battle of the Bulge. It is certainly true that the three German
armies regrouped for the offensive were in differing states; only
the 5th Panzer Army was in something resembling good condition,
with the 6th and the 7th mediocre at best. The divisions were also
often not mobile enough because of the lack of automotive equipment
and were short on tanks and artillery. But these cannot be
considered as the only reasons for the German failure: it was also
the speed of the Allied reaction, and especially the conduct of the
Americans, who experienced the some of the fiercest combat of the
war, and suffered over 100,000 casualties. This volume in the
Casemate Illustrated series, with over 100 photographs and 24 color
profiles describes in detail the different events that caused the
German defeat, from the beginning of the offensive on December 16,
1944 to the retreat behind the Siegfried Line. It looks at several
topics in particular: the American resistance at St. Vith; the
resistance of the 101st Airborne in Bastogne; German obstinacy in
persisting with the siege at Bastogne; the airlift and the
intervention of the 9th US Air Force; the rapid regrouping of the
3rd US Army; Patton's counterattack; the British counterattack, and
finally how the Allies failed to transform the German withdrawal
into rout, missing an opportunity to cross the Siegfried line and
the Rhine on the heels of the Germans, leading to an incomplete
victory.
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, in August 1944, was the turning
point in the Normandy campaign. By early August the German Army was
in turmoil: while it was managing to hold back the Allies, the
defense involved resources that could not be replaced, and the
Allies ruled the skies above. In late July, American troops broke
through the American lines and pushed south and east, while British
and Canadian troops pushed south. Although unable to counter these
offensives, Hitler refused to permit the commander Army Group B,
Field Marshal von Kluge, to withdraw. Instead he was ordered to
launch a counteroffensive at Mortain, the result being that the
Germans ended up further into the Allied envelopment. On 8 August
Montgomery ordered that the Allied armies converge on the Falaise
area-by 21 August the Allies had linked up and sealed the pocket,
trapping around 50,000 Germans inside. While many soldiers did
eventually escape the encirclement, the losses were catastrophic
and by the end of the month Army Group B had retreated across the
Seine, ending the battle of Normandy. This illustrated account
examines the battle from the failed offensive at Mortain, looking
at both German and Allied perspectives, using maps, diagrams and
profiles to complete the story.
Throughout the Second World War, a shift occurred in the
composition of the large armored units of armies which lead to an
increase in the power of their tanks in particular. The Germans
were no exception. Many of its recently formed Panzer divisions,
from the 12th SS-Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend to the 2nd
SS-Panzerdivision Das Reich, were thrust into the effort to repel
the Allies from June to August 1944 in Normandy. Within just ten
weeks they would be defeated. This volume of Casemate Illustrated
starts by exploring the initial struggle to gain control of Caen
after the Allies had landed on the beaches of Normandy which
resulted in the ferocious German Tiger tanks destroying the 7th
Armored Division, with British losses totaling twenty-seven tanks.
The subsequent strategies the commanders devised for the Panzer
tanks during Operations Goodwood and Cobra were not so successful,
ultimately ending in disaster for the Germans as the Allies broke
through the German line by the end of July. With over 100 photos,
diagrams showing the composition of German armored divisions, and
color profiles of tanks and other armored vehicles, this is a
detailed examination of the German armored forces in Normandy in
1944, focusing on the organization of the 10 Panzer divisions that
took part, the vehicles they relied on and the battles they fought
in and why ultimately their combined strength was not enough.
101st Airborne Division was activated in August 1942 in Louisiana,
and its first combat mission was Operation Overlord. On D-Day-June
6, 1944-101st and 82nd Airborne dropped onto the Cotentin peninsula
hours before the landings, tasked with capturing bridges and
positions, taking out German strongpoints and batteries, and
securing the exits from Utah and Omaha Beaches. Things did not
initially go smoothly for 101st Airborne, with cloud and
antiaircraft fire disrupting the drops resulting in some units
landing scattered over a large area outside their designated drop
zones and having to waste time assembling-stymied by lost or
damaged radio equipment-or trying to achieve their objectives with
severely reduced numbers. Casualties were high in some areas due to
heavy pre-registered German fire. Nevertheless, the paratroopers
fought on and they did manage to secure the crucial beach exits,
even if they only achieved a tenuous hold on some other positions.
A few days later, 101st Airborne were tasked with attacking the
German-held city of Carentan as part of the consolidation of the US
beachheads and establishment of a defensive line against the
anticipated German counteroffensive. The 101st forced their way
into Carentan on 10 and 11 June. The Germans withdrew the following
day, and a counteroffensive was put down by elements of the 2nd
Armored Division. This fully illustrated book details the planning
of the airborne element of D-Day, and the execution of the plans
until the troops were withdrawn to prepare for the next big
airborne operation, Market Garden.
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