Ken Ford Knihy

'The last great heave of war,' according to Churchill, took place with the crossing of the Rhine in 1945. No invading army had crossed this great river since Napoleon's in 1805, and the task fell to Field Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group. Opposing them were the forces of a failing fascist regime, including battalions of old men and boys, strengthened by several formations of crack troops, including paratroopers and Panzer Grenadiers.This book details the devastating Anglo-American assault from Arnhem during World War II (1939-1945), starting with the battle of Arnhem, and leading on to the successful crossing of the Rhine and eventual breakout, and continuing with the advance across northern Germany. Including comprehensive details on all aspects of the operation, including the amphibious assault, airborne landings, special forces' attack and armored land battle, this book charts the history of the last great set-piece battle of the war, second in magnitude only to the Normandy invasion, that ultimately brought the defeat of Hitler's Nazi regime one step closer.

Bitva u El Alameinu znamenala pro Velkou Británii za druhé světové války bod zlomu, po kterém se válečná štěstěna definitivně přiklonila na její stranu. V období mezi červencem a listopadem 1942 se tu odehrály tři dílčí bitvy, jejichž společným cílem bylo zastavení postupu Rommelovy armády k Suezskému průplavu. Při závěrečné z nich, jež probíhala v říjnu a listopadu, byla německá linie prakticky nepřetržitě ostřelována spojeneckými jednotkami. Rommel však měl od Hitlera rozkaz udržet ji za každou cenu. Spojenci ovšem německou obranu prolomili a Rommel, ve snaze zachránit zbytek Tankové armády Afrika, zahájil definitivní ústup na západ. Kniha nabízí podrobný pohled na bitvu, při které se v Africe obrátila karta ve prospěch Spojenců.

The Anglo-American battle for the Geilenkirchen salient in November 1944 was infantry warfare at its worst, and it is described in vivid detail in this new edition of Ken Ford's classic study. The onset of winter saw the Allied advance from the Normandy beaches forced to a halt on Germany's doorstep. The clock had been put back to the days of the Great War - the Allies had arrived at the Siegfried Line and were forced to attack the fortifications from the hell of the trenches. Geilenkirchen was the first battle on German soil to be fought by the British since Minden in 1759. For them, it was just one more battle on the way to Berlin, but for the American 84th Division, it was a first faltering step into war and a bitter lesson in the attrition and savagery of combat. The story is told by the men who were there - the British, the Americans, and the Germans who were fighting desperately for their homeland. Neither side was victorious - both lost more men than they could afford and paid a heavy price in young lives for a few miles of ground.

The assault crossing of the River Seine by the British 43rd (Wessex) Division in August 1944 remains one of the most important operations of the closing stages of the Second World War. Once the obstacle of the great river had been overcome, General Horrocks unleashed the armor of XXX Corps on their historic dash across northern France and Belgium.

In the final instalment in Osprey's trilogy on Operation Market-Garden, this is a fascinating account of the British XXX Corps assault towards the Rhine at Arnhem.

Tells the story of Operation Neptune was, of course, more than just a tale of planning, building and logistics.

The raid on Dieppe in August 1942 was one of the most controversial episodes of World War II. This study of the event explores the many lessons learned by all concerned, and how this led to a change of tactics and contributed to the success of the D-Day landings. schovat popis