Battleground Books: WWII – serie
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4 produkter
4 produkter
Häftad, Engelska, 2019
160 kr
Skickas
The book, the latest in a series of eight Battleground Europe books that deals with the BEF's campaign in France and Flanders in 1940, covers the fierce fighting around the Dunkerque Perimeter during May and June 1940 between the retreating British Expeditionary Force and its French allies and the advancing German army. It covers the area that most people in Britain associate with the fighting in France in 1940, a military disaster that could have been much worse. This grievous military setback was soon transformed into a morale boosting symbol of the resilience of the British against a Germany that had crushed so many nations in a matter of weeks.With over 200 black and white photographs and fourteen maps, this book looks in some detail at the units deployed around Dunkerque and Nieuport and their often desperate actions to prevent the inevitable advance of German forces opposing them. The evacuation of the BEF from the beaches east of Dunkerque is covered in detail from the perspective of the Royal Navy and from the standpoint of the soldier on the beaches. Unusual for a Battleground Europe publication is the inclusion of a walk and drive around Ramsgate and Dover, covering the English end of the evacuation.In addition to visits to the relevant cemeteries, the book includes three appendices and two car tours, one tour covering the whole of the Dunkirk perimeter and the other covering Ramsgate and Dover, although there is plenty of scope for walking in both tours. There is also a walk around De Panne, which takes the tourist along the beach that saw so much of the evacuation, and into the back areas of the town where the Germans left their mark when clearing up after the British had gone.
Häftad, Engelska, 2019
152 kr
Skickas
Known in some accounts as the Battle of Wijtschaete, the confrontation along the Ypres-Comines Canal in 1940 is still hardly remembered in this country and, apart from the battle honours displayed proudly on the colours of the regiments who took part - many no longer in existence, very little has been written about the four days which probably saved the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from almost complete destruction. This is quite surprising, given the pivotal nature of the battle, for without the sacrifice of the battalions on the canal there would probably have been no evacuation from Dunkerque on the scale to which we have become accustomed, and the war may well have taken on a different outcome.Although there was fighting north of Ypres along the Canal Van Ieper Naar De Ijzer, where 151 Brigade and the 3rd Division were deployed, the actual Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal took place to the south, where the three divisions of General der Infantry Viktor von Schwedler's IV Korps were pitted against three British brigades along the disused canal which runs from Comines in the south to Ypres in the north.The book looks in detail at the order of battle of the British and German units engaged and focuses on the four British brigades that fought on the canal. The mainly territorial 143 Brigade was positioned in the south, 13 Brigade was in the middle and 17 Brigade held the northern end of the line up to Zillebeke Lake. Apart from the 12/Lancers and a few tanks from 3/RTR, Ypres itself was largely defended by 150 Brigade. Major General Franklyn's instructions were to hold the line for as long as possible to allow the remainder of the BEF to strengthen the Dunkerque Perimeter.With over 150 contemporary and modern black and white photographs, ten maps, and visits to eight CWGC Cemeteries, the book enables the battlefield tourist to explore the area and undertake three car tours together with two short walks. Visitors will no doubt wish to combine a visit to the First World War sites around Ypres with the fighting along the canal in 1940, recognizing many places that were fought over in both wars
Häftad, Engelska, 2019
160 kr
Skickas
By early August 1944 the Germans fighting in Normandy had been worn down by the battles around Caen, while to the west, the American breakout was finally gaining momentum. Now was the time to launch II Canadian Corps south towards Falaise. With much of the German armour having been stripped away for the Mortain Counter-Attack, hopes ran high that the Corps, reinforced with British tanks, the 51st Highland and the Polish Armoured Divisions, would repeat the success of their predecessors in the Battle of Amiens.An innovative change of tactics to a night armoured assault and the conversion of seventy-two self-propelled guns to armoured personnel carriers for the accompanying infantry was very successful, but up against their implacable foes, 12th Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division, the pause for bombing allowed Kurt Panzer' Meyer to deploy his division. Consequently, when the 4th Canadian and Polish Armoured Divisions were launched into their first battle they made frustratingly little progress. As the Canadians advanced over the following days, the battle degenerated into a costly fight for ground as the Hitlerjugend struggled to contain the inexperienced Poles and Canadians.Operation Totalize is renowned for the death of SS panzer Ace Michael Wittmann at the hands of Trooper Joe Ekins and the destruction of Worthington Force, the result of a navigational error.
Häftad, Engelska, 2022
160 kr
Skickas
The story of 144 Brigade's defence of Wormhoudt and Bambecque must rank in importance alongside the defence of Cassel and Hazebrouck by 145 Brigade; however, what is often forgotten in the uncertainty that surrounded Wormhoudt and Bambeque is the heroic defence of West Cappel and Vwyfeg (les Cinq Chemins today) by the Welsh Guards and the 1/Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (1/F&F Yeomanry). Brigadier Norman's composite brigade was the final piece in the jigsaw of defence on the western flank of the Dunkerque Corridor and, after the last stand of the 2/Royal Warwicks and the 8/Worcesters, Norman's Brigade, held the line south of Bergues, containing the attacking German units at great cost, until the perimeter at Dunkerque had been established. He and the remnants of his brigade left Yvfweg just as the Germans were entering it from the south. The full story of the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkerque can be read in Battleground Europe: The Dunkerque Perimeter and Evacuation 1940.The defence of Wormhoudt in 1940 has long been associated with the massacre of British servicemen after they had surrendered and been taken prisoner. The events in the barn at La Plaine au Bois will always be considered one of the most appalling acts of the Second World War, carried out by elements of the Liebstandarte Regiment, in what looked very much like revenge; a massacre that was almost second nature to this group of fanatical followers of Adolf Hitler. Up against the regular troops of the 2/Warwicks and their supporting units, the Liebstandarte found no easy victory at Wormhoudt in an encounter that saw their regimental commander, Gruppenfuhrer Otto Sepp' Dietrich, having to take shelter in a roadside ditch away from the fury of the Cheshire machine gunners. Then again, what is often overshadowed by the events in the barn is the series of other murders of civilians and British soldiers that took place as the Liebstandarte overwhelmed the fragile defence of the Warwicks. Captain Tony' Crook, the Warwicks' Medical Officer, draws attention to just one of these incidents as he was marched into captivity past the bodies of A Company men, who he felt sure had been murdered in cold blood. Another incident involving the Worcesters at Bambecque is related by Lieutenant Roger Cleverley of C Company, who writes in his diary that all the wounded were shot by a commander of the Liebstandarte. Apart from hearsay and diary entries, there is little other evidence to support the deaths of these men but, in the opinion of the author, there is no doubt whatever that many British soldiers met a premature end after they had surrendered in the fields and on the pavements of Wormhoudt and Bambecque.