English translation of the military manual that guided the German Army in World War II This book was carried into battle by officers and NCOs and had been classified by the U.S. Army until the year 2000 Topics include command, attack, defense, tanks, chemical warfare, logistics, and more Truppenführung ("unit command") served as the basic manual for the German Army from 1934 until the end of World War II and laid the doctrinal groundwork for blitzkrieg and the early victories of Hitler's armies. Reading it is as close to getting inside the minds behind the Third Reich's war machine as you are likely to get.

The WWII Soviet guerilla training manual that became an essential text for freedom fighters across the globe—complete with illustrations. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II, the Red Army began recruiting local partisans to help mount a resistance. This edition of The Partisan’s Companion is the last and best Red Army manual used to train these men to fight Nazi invaders. Besides field craft, it covers partisan tactics, German counter-guerrilla tactics, demolitions, German and Soviet weapons, scouting, camouflage, anti-tank warfare, and antiaircraft defense for squad and platoon-level instruction. It contains the Soviet lessons of two bitter years of war and provides a good look at the tactics and training of a mature partisan force. While this handbook was a vital part of Soviet victory over the Nazis, its usefulness outlived the Second World War. It was later used to train guerrilla groups in the developing world during their wars of national liberation in the 1950s–70s. Even the fedayeen guerrillas who fought US and coalition forces in Iraq relied on this manual for training, tactics, and general approach to combat. A selection of the Military Book Club.

Between 1939 and 1945, close to 13 million men served in the German army - das Heer. The bulk of these men were infantrymen, who slogged their way, mostly on foot, from Finisterre to Moscow, Kirkenes to Tripoli. They swore unlimited obedience to Adolf Hitler and were ready to stake their lives for this oath: over 1.6 million men of das Heer were killed during the war and over 4.1 million were wounded.

Created during WWII by the War Department, the Handbook on German Military Forces was intended to familiarize command staff with nearly every aspect of Hitler's war machine. Originally classified "restricted," the Handbook was created from the best intelligence that the OSS and other military information sources could offer. It contains comprehensive information and analysis of the German military system, and includes chapters on the organization of Wehrmacht field forces, military and auxiliary organizations (including SS and SA), tactics, fortifications and defenses, movement, supply and evacuation. It also contains a description of German uniforms and equipment. This includes mechanized forces and weapons from small arms to mortars, artillery, vehicles and tanks, and rocket weapons. The Handbook's final chapters are devoted to a study of the Luftwaffe, including its chain of command, equipment, training and tactics. While some of the details within this book may bear review in light of history, it remains one of the most comprehensive compendiums of information about the German forces ever assembled. Although it was declassified after WWII, it's never been easy to obtain a copy of this book. This high quality reprint includes all the original text, diagrams and photographs from the final, 1945 revised version of the manual.

A visual history of the German soldier, providing a unique insight into how they lived, ate, maintained themselves at the front, and how they behaved when out of line, through a collection of personal items and artifacts they left behind.

Regardless of technological and doctrinal advances, final mastery of any battlefield ultimately depends upon the tight-knit group of soldiers trained to direct fire, move, take ground and hold it. This book examines the infantry combat methods of World War II. It draws on the training manuals of the time and first-hand accounts of frontline action and covers the organization and tactics of squad, platoon, company and battalion. It identifies the differences between German, American, British and Japanese approaches and demonstrates how these evolved in the face of changes in the battlefield environment. Motorized infantry tactics are also covered together with each army's responses to the continuously growing challenge and shifting patterns of anti-tank combat and combined operations with armor.

This paper focuses on the formulation of doctrine since World War II. In no comparable period in history have the dimensions of the battlefield been so altered by rapid technological changes. The need for the tactical doctrines of the Army to remain correspondingly abreast of these changes is thus more pressing than ever before. Future conflicts are not likely to develop in the leisurely fashions of the past where tactical doctrines could be refined on the battlefield itself. It is, therefore, imperative that we apprehend future problems with as much accuracy as possible. One means of doing so is to pay particular attention to the business of how the Army's doctrine has developed historically, with a view to improving methods of future development.