Beginning with the D-day landings, this is a frank appraisal of the planned use and actual results of the deployment of armour by both German and Allied commanders in the major tank battles of the campaign including Epsom, Goodwood, Cobra and Totalize. ‘Tiger!’ is a critique of how Montgomery’s plans to seize territory and break out failed in the face of German resistance. It details the poor planning by British generals who made many mistakes and how the German convoluted chain of command contributed to their own defeat.Official reports, war diaries, After Action reports, letters, regimental histories, memoirs of generals and troopers are used to tell the inside story of the campaign from an armour point of view to give a different but detailed perspective.For the first time the book gives real numbers of tanks lost in the battle of the campaign from research at archives around the world.
During World War II, the two pre-eminent mechanized infantry forces of the conflict, the German Panzergrenadier arm and the US Army's armoured infantrymen, clashed in France and Belgium after the Normandy landings. These engagements went on to profoundly influence the use of mechanized infantry in the post-war world. Drawing upon a variety of sources, this book focuses on three key encounters between July and December 1944 including during Operation Cobra and the Battle of the Bulge, and examines the origins, equipment, doctrine and combat record of both forces. With specially commissioned full-colour artwork and maps, this study sheds light on the evolving nature of mechanized warfare at the height of World War II.
'General Leclerc' was the nom de guerre adopted by the Gaullist officer Philippe de Hautcloque, to protect his family in occupied France. He became France's foremost fighting commander, and his armored division (the '2e DB') its most famous formation. Starting as a small scratch force of mostly African troops organised and led by Leclerc in French Equatorial Africa, it achieved early success raiding Italian and German positions in co-operation with Britain's Long Range Desert Group. Following the Allied victory in North Africa it was expanded and reorganised as a US Army-style armoured division, with American tanks and other armoured vehicles. Shipped to the UK, in spring 1944, it was assigned to Patton's US Third Army, landing in time for the Normandy breakout and being given the honour of liberating Paris in August 1944. Combining a thorough analysis of their combat and organisation with detailed colour plates of their uniforms and equipment, this is the fascinating story of Free France's most effective fighting force.
Although it is known that Allied airborne forces landed into a German buzzsaw on D-Day, far less is known about the troops they encountered in the dark night of June 6, 1944. One of the formations they encountered was a similarly elite group of paratroopers, who instead of dropping from the skies fought on the defensive, giving their Allied counterparts a tremendous challenge in achieving their objectives. This is the complete wartime history of one of the largest German paratrooper regiments, 6th , from its initial formation in the spring of 1943 to its last day at the end of the war. With numerous firsthand accounts from key members, reporting on their experiences, they describe the events of 1943Ð45 vividly and without compromise. These accounts reveal previously unknown details about important operations in Italy, Russia, on the Normandy Front, Belgium, Holland, the last German Parachute drop in the Ardennes, and the final battle to the end in Germany. With over 220 original photographs, many from private collections and never before published, this book fully illustrates the men, their uniforms, equipment and weapons. Also included is an appendix with maps, battle calendar, staffing plans, a list of field and post-MOB-numbers, and the Knight's Cross recipients of the regiment. Having earned the respect of the Allied forces who fought against it during World War II, this work will inform current readers of the full record of Fallschirmjger Regiment 6, and why the Allied advance into German-held Europe was so painstaking to achieve.
THE BEGINNINGS OF VICTORY Shortly after the D-Day invasion, the Allied forces in Europe had stalled. A limited operation was set in motion to punch a small hole in the enemy defenses, starting on July 25, 1944. It was called Operation Cobra, and it would become one of the greatest offensives in all of military history. In the sixty days following the launch of the operation, the Allies -- commanded by Dwight Eisenhower and led by men such as the irascible General George Patton and General Omar Bradley -- attacked the enemy relentlessly. And what began as a desperate attempt to break a stalemate turned into an unstoppable armored juggernaut that swept the Germans out of virtually all of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Here is a penetrating account of that incredible feat of military skill, bravery, and daring that changed the course of the war, and signaled the end of Germany's domination of Europe.
After the success of the D-Day landings, the Allied forces were bogged down in a bloody stalemate in Normandy. On 25 July 1944, General Bradley launched Operation Cobra to break the deadlock. What followed was one of the most decisive months of World War II, as US forces punched a hole in the German frontline and began a spectacular advance. As Patton's Third Army poured into Brittany and raced south to the Loire, the German army was threatened with encirclement. By the end of August German forces in Normandy were utterly destroyed, and the remaining German units in central and southern France were in headlong retreat to the German frontier. In this concise, illustrated account, Steven J. Zaloga explains how the breakout from Normandy came about.
As the Allies attempted to break out of Normandy, it quickly became apparent that there would be no easy victory over the Germans, and that every scrap of territory on the way to Berlin would have to be earned through hard fighting. This study concentrates on, the ferocious battles between the German Panzer IV and US Sherman that were at the heart of this decisive phase of World War II. The two types were among the most-produced tanks in US and German service and were old enemies, having clashed repeatedly in the Mediterranean theater. Throughout their long service careers, both had seen a succession of technical developments and modifications, as well as an evolution in their intended roles – but both remained at the forefront of the fighting on the Western Front. Written by an expert on tank warfare, this book invites the reader into the cramped confines of these armoured workhorses, employing vivid technical illustrations alongside archive and contemporary photography to depict the conditions for the crewmen within.
Originally published in 1946, this book is an official unit history for the 2d Armored Division in World War II, which was activated on 15 July 1940 and participated in campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and Sicily. Elements of the Division first saw action in North Africa, landing at Casablanca in November 1942, and later took part in the fighting at Beja, Tunisia, but as a whole did not enter combat until the invasion of Sicily, when it made an assault landing at Gela in July 1943 and saw action at Butera, Campobello, and Palermo. After the Sicilian campaign, the Division trained in England for the cross-Channel invasion, landed in Normandy D plus 3 on 9 June 1944, and went into action in the vicinity of Carentan. The Division raced across France in July and August, drove through Belgium, and attacked across the Albert Canal in September, crossing the German border at Schimmert to take up defensive positions near Geilenkirchen. In October, it launched an attack on the Siegfried Line from Marienberg, broke through, crossed the Wurm River, and seized Puffendorf and Barmen in November. It was holding positions on the Roer when it was ordered to help contain the German Ardennes offensive. The Division helped reduce the Bulge in January 1945, fighting in the Ardennes forest in deep snow, and cleared the area from Houffalize to the Ourthe River of the enemy. After a rest in February, the Division drove on across the Rhine in March, and was the first American Division to reach the Elbe at Schonebeck in April, where it was halted, on orders. In July 1945, the Division entered Berlin—the first American unit to enter the German capital city. Known as the "Hell on Wheels" division, the 2d Armored Division was one of the most famous American units in World War II. Richly illustrated throughout with photos of the 2d Armored Division, General George Patton, battle photographs and maps.
The armored divisions were the shock force of the US Army's combat formations during the fighting in Northwest Europe in the final year of the war. Of the 16 such divisions formed during the war, all but one served in the European Theater of Operations. This book examines the organizational structure, operational doctrine and combat mission of these divisions from D-Day onwards, describing how doctrines and tactics were changed as the divisions were forced to adapt to the battlefield realities of combat against an experienced foe. The lessons drawn by the armored divisions from the bitter fighting in Northwest Europe from 1944 to 1945 strongly shaped postwar US Army doctrine.
