From the earliest planning stages of the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes during World War II (1939-1945), Hitler was convinced of the importance of taking the Meuse bridges. He resolved that, when his forces broke through the US lines, one special unit should be dressed in American uniforms and issued with American weapons and vehicles. In this guise they could take advantage of the surprise and shock of the breakthrough, and move forward to the Meuse bridges as if they were retreating Americans. Jean-Paul Pallud details their organisation and the fateful sequence of events that followed.

Ardennes 1944 Peiper & Skorzeny (Elite, 11)

History

Pallud, Jean-Paul

Europe

Osprey_Publishing

pp. 532, b/w photographs and maps, large and heavy book, extra postge will apply

Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now

Military

Battle of Britain Prints International

Nine days before Christmas 1944 Hitler played Germany's last card on which he staked everything to turn the tables in the West. This is the first time that an attempt has been made to cover the entire salient in order to present the battle in our familiar 'then and now' format. Hundreds of miles have been traveled by the author throughout every corner of the battlefield to search out the scenes of past events - every known photograph belonging to combatants, civilians, and in public collections and private sources has been sought or considered. All of the cine film has been examined frame by frame and certain sequences illustrated and analyzed. In this way a number of classic pictures almost always used - or misused - in depicting the Ardennes battle are not only placed in their context in the German advance but are also shown to be not always quite what they seem!

Americas

After the Battle

The author presents an account of the Battle of France: the forty-five traumatic days from May 10 to June 24, 1940 that resulted in one of the most remarkable military victories of modern times. During those six weeks, six nations found themselves at war, fighting across four countries. From the polders of the Netherlands in the north to the mountains of the Alps in the south, and from the Rhine valley to the Atlantic coast, Jean Paul Pallud explores every corner of the battlefield, the camera recording the scenes today where 50 years ago Dutch, Belgian, German, French, British and Italian soldiers were locked in mortal combat. Battles great and small are described and illustrated to colour the canvas of both the broad strategy and the individual firefight in Hitler's victorious campaign of Blitzkrieg in the West.

Blitzkrieg in the West: Then and Now (After the Battle S)

Well before Yuri Gagarin or Alan Shepard, Lothar Sieber became the first man to take off vertically from the ground under rocket power on March 1, 1945. The plane crashed after flying for 55 seconds and he was killed. The launch marked a milestone on the road to spaceflight, even though it remained virtually unknown to the general public for more than half a century. But the Natter was a weapon of war born out in the closing months of World War II when Germany was desperately looking for 'wonder weapons' to fight the inevitable defeat. A vertical take-off rocket fighter, the Natter would reach the Allied bomber altitude in seconds, then the pilot would get within firing distance of a bomber, and fire all 24 rockets into the nose in a single shot. Its fuel running out, the pilot will then glide the plane at high speed to a lower altitude, at which point he will trigger the plane to break up, a large parachute opening at the rear, popping off the nose and the pilot with it. The pilot and the tail with the Walter rocket engine would land under their separate parachutes, while the disposable nose, fuselage and wings were to crash to the ground. The Natter is unquestionably an exciting aircraft but it is safe to assume that it would have been a failure as a bomber interceptor.

First Manned Rocket Launch: Then and Now

Vergeltungswaffen - The Third Reich's V-Missiles: Then and Now

German Command Headquarters in the West: Hitler’s Commanders at Ob West

From the Riviera, to the Rhine and on to the Colmar pocket, all three operations are covered in this volume by Jean Paul Pallud, and each show the action and locations in our unique ‘then and now’ style.\nThe project of a landing operation in southern France was debated between American and British Allies from mid-1943, the Americans favoring the idea, the British expressing doubts on the value of such an operation. The Russians intervened in November when, at the ‘Eureka’ conference at Teheran Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet state, declared he was much interested in an operation in southern France. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to launch Operation ‘Anvil’ in southern France at the same time as Operation 'Overlord', the Normandy landings.\nConvinced that the Allied forces in the Mediterranean would better be used in the Italian campaign, Churchill appealed directly to Roosevelt in June to cancel 'Anvil' but Roosevelt answered that he was definitely for 'Anvil'. On July 2, the Combined Chiefs-of-Staff directed General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, the C-in-C Mediterranean Theater, to launch Operation 'Dragoon', a three-division assault against the coast of southern France by August 14.\nUnder the shield of a large naval task force the US VI Corps and French forces landed on the beaches of the Riviera on August 15. Opposition from scattered German forces was weak. As the swiftly defeated German forces withdrew to the north through the Rhône valley, pressed by the leaders of VI Corps, the French captured the ports of Marseille and Toulon, soon bringing them into operation. Troops from Operation 'Dragoon' met with the Allied units from Operation 'Overlord' on September 15. At the same time Headquarters of the US 6th Army Group, under Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, became operational taking command of the US Seventh Army and the French 1ère Armée.\nThe swift campaign soon came to a stop at the Vosges mountains, where Armeegruppe G was able to establish a stable defense line.\nThe leaders of the 6th Army Group reached the Rhine in mid-November but there would be no crossing. Eisenhower ordered Devers to use whatever force necessary to clear the area between the Vosges and the Rhine and to turn the Seventh Army north as quickly as possible, attacking west and east of the Low Vosges.\nIn spite of its uncertain antecedents, the well-planned Operation 'Dragoon' and the forces involved — along with German unpreparedness and disarray — contributed to a surprisingly rapid success that liberated most of southern France in just four weeks.

Operation 'Dragoon' and Beyond: Then and Now (Then & Now)

Ruckmarsch Then and Now: The German Retreat from Normandy

The Desert War: Then and Now

Africa

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pallud, Jean-Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Pallud, Jean-Paul

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pallud, Jean-Paul. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Ardennes 1944 Peiper & Skorzeny (Elite, 11)

Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now

Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now

Blitzkrieg in the West: Then and Now (After the Battle S)

First Manned Rocket Launch: Then and Now

Vergeltungswaffen - The Third Reich's V-Missiles: Then and Now

German Command Headquarters in the West: Hitler’s Commanders at Ob West

Operation 'Dragoon' and Beyond: Then and Now (Then & Now)

Ruckmarsch Then and Now: The German Retreat from Normandy

The Desert War: Then and Now