This WWII combat history sheds light on the Battle for Staraya Russa, in which German soldiers and Spanish volunteers bitterly fought the Red Army. In January 1942, in the Staraya Russa sector south of Lake Ilmen, the 16th German Army clashed with Vasili Morozov's 11th Soviet Army for possession of the region. Fighting alongside the Germans were the Spanish volunteers of the Blue Division. Though the fighting lasted for nearly a month, the battle for Staraya Russa is all but forgotten in studies of the Second World War’s Eastern Front. In Lake Ilmen, 1942, the authors present a strategic framework of the battle from both the German and Russian perspectives. They also recount the hard fighting and extreme weather endured by both sides, bringing the human aspect of the conflict to life through a survey of individual volunteers who fought in it.

A highly illustrated account of the battle for the Demyansk Pocket on the Eastern Front in World War II. The fighting around the town of Demyansk was one of the longest encirclement battles on the Eastern Front during World War II, stretching from February 1942 to February 1943. Originally, the German 16. Armee occupied Demyansk in the autumn of 1941 because it was key terrain that would be used as a springboard for an eventual offensive into the Valdai Hills. Instead, the Soviet winter counteroffensive in February 1942 encircled the German II Armeekorps and other units, inside the Demyansk Pocket. Yet despite severe pounding from five Soviet armies, the embattled German troops held the pocket and the Luftwaffe organized a major aerial resupply effort to sustain the defenders. For the first time in military history, an army was supplied entirely by air. In February 1943, Marshal Timoshenko was ordered to launch an offensive to cut off the base of the salient and annihilate the 12 divisions. At the same time, Hitler finally came to his senses after the Stalingrad debacle and authorized the 16. Armee to withdraw from the pocket. This volume will conclude with the drama of a German Army-sized withdrawal under fire in winter, under attack from three sides.

In the summer of 1941, a collective madness overtook Adolf Hitler and his senior generals. They convinced themselves that they could take on and defeat a superpower in the making – the Soviet Union. Foolishly, they thought in a swift campaign they could smash the Red Army and force Stalin to sue for peace, despite dire warnings that Stalin was amassing a reserve army of more than 1 million men on the Volga. The end result would be such carnage that it would tear the German forces apart. In his major reassessment of the war on the Eastern Front, Anthony Tucker-Jones casts new light on the brutal fighting, including such astounding German defeats as at Stalingrad, Kursk, Minsk and, finally, Berlin. He controversially contends that from the very start intelligence officers on both sides failed to influence their leadership resulting in untold slaughter. He also reveals the shocking blunders by Hitler, Stalin and even Churchill that led to the appalling, needless destruction of Hitler's armed forces as early as the winter of 1941–42. Step by step, Tucker-Jones describes how the German war machine fought to its very last against a relentless enemy, fully aware that defeat was inevitable.

The war diary of General Franz Halder, the German Army Chief of Staff. Halder kept careful, daily notes of his activities.

"A badly needed addition to public and military libraries and to the shelves of every military writer … a definitive job." — Army Times Megiddo, Thermopylae, Waterloo, Stalingrad, Vietnam … nothing has dominated man's attention, challenged his energy, produced more heroes — and destruction — than war. This monumental one-volume work traces the long history of that uniquely human activity in vivid, accurate accounts of over 1,500 crucial military conflicts, Spanning more than 3,400 years, it encompasses a panorama of warfare so complete that no single volume like it exists. All the essential details of every major battle in recorded history on land and at sea — from the first battle of Megiddo in 1479 B. C. to Grenada in 1984 — are covered. For added convenience, this work lists the engagements in alphabetical order, from "Aachen," the first entry, to "Zutphen," the last. You'll find painstakingly researched, objectively written descriptions of the Persia-Greek conflicts of the fifth century B. C., Roman Empire wars, Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, and many more. Also included are penetrating analyses of the roles played by commanders of genius — Alexander, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, Khalid ibn al-Walid, and other momentous figures. Updating this already comprehensive resource, a new Appendix deals with more recent conflicts: the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War, the Falkland Islands clash, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and the U. S. invasion of Grenada. Each entry includes states, strategic situations, military leaders, troop numbers, tactics, casualties and military/political consequences of the battles. In addition, you'll find cross references at the end of each entry, 99 battle maps and a comprehensive index containing titles and alliances and treaties, famous quotations, slogans, catch phrases … even battle cries. An Encyclopedia of Battles is an entire library of military history in one convenient space-saving volume. Students, historians, writers, military buffs … anyone interested in the subject will find this inexpensive paperbound edition an indispensable reference and a fascinating study of the world's military past.

Charles Sydnor relates the political and military experience of the SS Totenkopfdivision to the institutional development of the SS and the ideological objectives of Nazi Germany.

A fully illustrated overview of the Nazi German Air Force’s victory markings on their day & night fighter aircrafts in World War II. This book provides an overview of the victory markings painted on the fins and rudders of the planes of the German day fighter and night fighter aircraft between 1939 and 1945, and demonstrates how these were applied in reality through the profiles of nineteen pilots, including some of the most emblematic pilots of the Luftwaffe: Hans Troitzsch, Johannes Gentzen, Frank Liesendahl, Wilhelm Balthasar, Otto Bertram, Joachim Müncheberg, Karl-Heinz Koch, Kurt “Kuddel” Ubben, Felix-Maria Brandis, “Fiffi” Stahlschmidt, Franz-Josef Beerenbrock, Heinrich Setz, Walter “Gulle" Oesau, Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, Heinrich Bartels, "Fritz" Dinger, Martin Drewes, Egmont zur Lippe-Weissenfeld and Ludwig Meister. Praise for Luftwaffe Victory Markings 1939–45 “For any and all who seek out photos of the German WWII victory markings adorning their aircraft, this book is simply a ‘must have’.” —Large Scale Planes “Will be of great interest to modelers who want to put victory markings on a Luftwaffe fighter model.” —AMPS Indianapolis “Modelers seeking to put a finishing detail on their aircraft will find this book quite useful.” —Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

The definitive reference on the German Army in World War II, covering the organization, combat history, and commanders of each division.

The best political weapon is the weapon of terror. Cruelty commands respect. Men may hate us. But we don't ask for their love - only for their fear - Heinrich Himmler, leader of the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS were the armed division of the feared Schutzstaffel, and the private army of Adolf Hitler. They developed a reputation as brutal soldiers, willing to carry out any order, no matter how terrible. Fanatically devoted to Nazism and unswervingly loyal to the Führer, they were committed some of the most horrific atrocities of World War II as they sought to enforce the racial policies of the Nazi state. In this unflinching and engrossing account, Nigel Cawthorne provides a detailed look at one of the most chilling organizations ever conceived by the human imagination. He examines their elite position under the Nazi regime, the superior weapons they were afforded, their involvement in the murderous crimes of the Holocaust, and the way they thrust their claws into every aspect of German life. Illustrated with reportage photographs, this is the story of the rise and fall of one of the most evil organizations the world has ever seen.

Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War the details of Soviet ships, their activities and fates remain an enigma to the West. In wartime such information was classified and after a brief period of glasnost (‘openness’) the Russian state has again restricted access to historical archives. Therefore, the value – and originality – of this work is difficult to exaggerate. It sees the first publication of reliable data on both the seagoing fleets and riverine flotillas of the Soviet Navy, listing over 6200 vessels from battleships to river gunboats, and mercantile conversions as well as purpose-built warships. This second part of the three-volume series includes all the remaining fighting vessels not already covered in Volume I. Beginning with the Uragan class – rated as Escort Ships and the first seagoing warships designed by the Soviet Union – the book then moves on to Submarine Hunters, both large and small, Patrol craft, Minelayers and Minesweepers, and unusual types like Floating Artillery Batteries and Anti-Aircraft Defense Ships, concluding with Landing Ships and Craft. Many of these vessels have hitherto been poorly documented but given the nature of the land-centered Soviet war against Germany their contribution should not be underestimated. The details of their service and, not least, the circumstances of their loss, constitute a major addition to Western understanding of the Soviet Navy’s war effort. This is undoubtedly one of the most important naval reference works of recent years and will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in warships, the Soviet Navy or wider maritime aspects of the Second World War. Furthermore, as recent Russian actions appear to revive Soviet-era aspirations, this book offers both new insights and valuable background of contemporary relevance.