The Wehrmacht Retreats
The Wehrmacht Retreats

Author: Robert M. Citino

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 0700623434

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Throughout 1943, the German army, heirs to a military tradition that demanded and perfected relentless offensive operations, succumbed to the realities of its own overreach and the demands of twentieth-century industrialized warfare. In his new study, prizewinning author Robert Citino chronicles this weakening Wehrmacht, now fighting desperately on the defensive but still remarkably dangerous and lethal. Drawing on his impeccable command of German-language sources, Citino offers fresh, vivid, and detailed treatments of key campaigns during this fateful year: the Allied landings in North Africa, General von Manstein's great counterstroke in front of Kharkov, the German attack at Kasserine Pass, the titanic engagement of tanks and men at Kursk, the Soviet counteroffensives at Orel and Belgorod, and the Allied landings in Sicily and Italy. Through these events, he reveals how a military establishment historically configured for violent aggression reacted when the tables were turned; how German commanders viewed their newest enemy, the U.S. Army, after brutal fighting against the British and Soviets; and why, despite their superiority in materiel and manpower, the Allies were unable to turn 1943 into a much more decisive year. Applying the keen operational analysis for which he is so highly regarded, Citino contends that virtually every flawed German decision-to defend Tunis, to attack at Kursk and then call off the offensive, to abandon Sicily, to defend Italy high up the boot and then down much closer to the toe-had strong supporters among the army's officer corps. He looks at all of these engagements from the perspective of each combatant nation and also establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt the synergistic interplay between the fronts. Ultimately, Citino produces a grim portrait of the German officer corps, dispelling the longstanding tendency to blame every bad decision on Hitler. Filled with telling vignettes and sharp portraits and copiously documented, The Wehrmacht Retreats is a dramatic and fast-paced narrative that will engage military historians and general readers alike.

Stalingrad
Stalingrad

Author: David M. Glantz

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2019-07-13

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 0700628797

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The long awaited one-volume campaign history from the leading experts of the decisive clash of Nazi and Soviet forces at Stalingrad; an abridged edition of the five volume Stalingrad Trilogy. Stalingrad offers a sweeping synthesis of this massive confrontation, how it impacted the war, and why it matters today.

The Tanks of Operation Barbarossa
The Tanks of Operation Barbarossa

Author: Boris Kavalerchik

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2018-05-30

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 1473886821

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An absorbing study of the tanks and the tank tactics of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Red Army had four times as many tanks as the Wehrmacht and their tanks were seemingly superior, yet the Wehrmacht won the border battles with extraordinary ease. The Red Army’s tank force was pushed aside and for the most part annihilated. How was this victory achieved, and were the Soviet tanks really as well designed as is often believed? These are the basic questions Boris Kavalerchik answers in this compelling study of tank warfare on the Eastern Front. Drawing on technical and operational documents from Russian archives, many of which were classified until recently and are unknown to Western readers, he compares the strengths and weakness of the tanks and the different ways in which they were used by the opposing armies. His work will be essential reading for military historians who are interested in the development of armored warfare and in this aspect of the struggle on the Eastern Front. “So much has been written on this subject, and yet this book dispels myths and offers fresh insights in a study of Soviet and German tanks at the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front . . . a fascinating selection of images.”—Firetrench “This book is highly recommended due to the excellent use of data, the organization of the book established by the author, and thoughtful and comprehensive coverage of the subject.”—IPMS/USA

Bloody Triangle
Bloody Triangle

Author: Victor Kamenir

Publisher: Zenith Imprint

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9780760334348

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first in-depth account of one of the great tank battles of WWII, when more than 2000 German and Soviet tanks met in northwestern Ukraine in 1941.

Death of the Wehrmacht
Death of the Wehrmacht

Author: Robert M. Citino

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2007-10-22

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 0700617914

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For Hitler and the German military, 1942 was a key turning point of World War II, as an overstretched but still lethal Wehrmacht replaced brilliant victories and huge territorial gains with stalemates and strategic retreats. In this major reevaluation of that crucial year, Robert Citino shows that the German army's emerging woes were rooted as much in its addiction to the "war of movement"-attempts to smash the enemy in "short and lively" campaigns-as they were in Hitler's deeply flawed management of the war. From the overwhelming operational victories at Kerch and Kharkov in May to the catastrophic defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad, Death of the Wehrmacht offers an eye-opening new view of that decisive year. Building upon his widely respected critique in The German Way of War, Citino shows how the campaigns of 1942 fit within the centuries-old patterns of Prussian/German warmaking and ultimately doomed Hitler's expansionist ambitions. He examines every major campaign and battle in the Russian and North African theaters throughout the year to assess how a military geared to quick and decisive victories coped when the tide turned against it. Citino also reconstructs the German generals' view of the war and illuminates the multiple contingencies that might have produced more favorable results. In addition, he cites the fatal extreme aggressiveness of German commanders like Erwin Rommel and assesses how the German system of command and its commitment to the "independence of subordinate commanders" suffered under the thumb of Hitler and chief of staff General Franz Halder. More than the turning point of a war, 1942 marked the death of a very old and traditional pattern of warmaking, with the classic "German way of war" unable to meet the challenges of the twentieth century. Blending masterly research with a gripping narrative, Citino's remarkable work provides a fresh and revealing look at how one of history's most powerful armies began to founder in its quest for world domination.

Ostkrieg
Ostkrieg

Author: Stephen G. Fritz

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2011-10-14

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 0813140501

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

On June 22, 1941, Germany launched the greatest land assault in history on the Soviet Union, an attack that Adolf Hitler deemed crucial to ensure German economic and political survival. As the key theater of the war for the Germans, the eastern front consumed enormous levels of resources and accounted for 75 percent of all German casualties. Despite the significance of this campaign to Germany and to the war as a whole, few English-language publications of the last thirty-five years have addressed these pivotal events. In Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East, Stephen G. Fritz bridges the gap in scholarship by incorporating historical research from the last several decades into an accessible, comprehensive, and coherent narrative. His analysis of the Russo-German War from a German perspective covers all aspects of the eastern front, demonstrating the interrelation of military events, economic policy, resource exploitation, and racial policy that first motivated the invasion. This in-depth account challenges accepted notions about World War II and promotes greater understanding of a topic that has been neglected by historians.

Seek, Strike, and Destroy
Seek, Strike, and Destroy

Author: Christopher Richard Gabel

Publisher:

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the seventy years that have passed since the tank first appeared, antitank combat has presented one of the greatest challenges in land warfare. Dramatic improvements in tank technology and doctrine over the years have precipitated equally innovative developments in the antitank field. One cycle in this ongoing arms race occurred during the early years of World War II when the U.S. Army sought desperately to find an antidote to the vaunted German blitzkrieg. This Leavenworth Paper analyzes the origins of the tank destroyer concept, evaluates the doctrine and equipment with which tank destroyer units fought, and assesses the effectiveness of the tank destroyer in battle.

Panzer Warfare on the Eastern Front
Panzer Warfare on the Eastern Front

Author: Hans Schäufler

Publisher: Tradeselect

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780811710794

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Vivid narrative of tank combat on the brutal Eastern Front during World War IIDescribes clashes between German Tigers and Soviet T-34sCovers the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Stalingrad, Kursk, and moreContains numerous firsthand accounts

The Battle of the Tanks
The Battle of the Tanks

Author: Lloyd Clark

Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published: 2011-11-04

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13: 0802195105

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“A comprehensive analysis of WWII’s greatest land battle and one of history’s greatest armor engagements.” —Publishers Weekly 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 six thousand tanks, thirty-five thousand guns, and five thousand aircrafts 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. “A stellar account of the Battle of Kursk in 1943.” —Booklist